Cambridge, MA-based Cerulean Pharma announced today that it has raised $15 million in a Series D financing round, which included one new investor: CVF, an affiliate of Henry Crown and Company. Also participating in this round were existing investors Polaris Venture Partners, Venrock, Lilly Ventures, Lux Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Cerulean’s lead drug candidate, CRLX101, is a “nanoparticle”—a tiny chemical package designed to burrow its way into cancer cells and kill them. In July, the company began a new Phase 2 trial of the drug in non-small cell lung cancer. The company plans to release top-line results from that trial next year.
Cerulean says it will use the new money to support the completion of that trial, as well as several others that will take place at academic medical centers. The company also plans to expand its platform to other opportunities, including RNA-based therapeutics.
