AstraZeneca Spinout Entasis Snags $50M For Anti-Infective Treatments

Entasis Therapeutics, the AstraZeneca spinout developing novel antibiotics, has raised a $50 million Series B round to push forward the creation of a portfolio of treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections.

AstraZeneca announced it was creating Entasis in July, having funded the company with a $40 million Series A. This newest round was led by Clarus Ventures, which was joined by Frazier Healthcare Partners, Novo A/S, and Eventide Funds.

The money will help add to the Waltham, MA-based company’s pipeline and advance its preclinical products. In July, Entasis said its lead drug candidate would treat uncomplicated gonorrhea.

The company is making antibiotics for major Gram-negative infections, which target essential bacterial processes, Entasis says. Entasis is led by CEO Manos Perros, a longtime AstraZeneca executive, and chief medical officer Robin Isaacs, who joined from Merck.

Nicholas Galakatos, the co-founder and managing director of Clarus, is joining Entasis’s board as chairman. James Topper, managing general partner of Frazier Healthcare Partners, and Peter Tuxen Bisgaard, senior partner of Novo Ventures (US), are also joining the board.

Author: David Holley

David is the national correspondent at Xconomy. He has spent most of his career covering business of every kind, from breweries in Oregon to investment banks in New York. A native of the Pacific Northwest, David started his career reporting at weekly and daily newspapers, covering murder trials, city council meetings, the expanding startup tech industry in the region, and everything between. He left the West Coast to pursue business journalism in New York, first writing about biotech and then private equity at The Deal. After a stint at Bloomberg News writing about high-yield bonds and leveraged loans, David relocated from New York to Austin, TX. He graduated from Portland State University.