Corvidia Therapeutics raises $60m funding to speed up clinical work

Venrock led the Series B financing and was joined by five additional new investors: Andera (formerly Edmond de Rothschild), Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures GmbH and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners (VHCP).

Series A investors Apple Tree Partners, MedImmune, the global biologics Research and Development arm of AstraZeneca, and Sofinnova Partners, the founding seed investor, also participated in this round.

Corvidia Therapeutics CEO Marc de Garidel said: “We are extremely pleased to have reached such an important milestone in Corvidia’s advancement as a biotechnology company.

“This funding is critical to accelerating our clinical programs and adding the necessary scientific and market access infrastructure which will drive our growth in developing precision therapies for patients across a range of complex diseases.”

Corvidia Therapeutics is nearing completion of a Phase 2 clinical trial for a genetically-defined patient population living with advanced chronic kidney disease.

Presently, the Company is scientifically-focused on cardiovascular indications utilizing the study of genetic variations to ultimately deliver precise treatments to specific patients who have an unmet medical need.

The Series B funding will be used to progress the lead clinical programs in chronic kidney disease and beyond as well as advance pre-clinical programs. The Company will add new talent to support these advancing programs.

Venrock vice president Karim Helmy said: “Corvidia’s innovative approach to cardiovascular drug development allows them to parse complex, heterogeneous conditions and validate disease pathways in patient subpopulations before beginning clinical trials.

“We have confidence that Corvidia’s highly-respected and experienced team will continue to identify critical therapeutic targets for these devastating diseases through their pioneering approach.”

Several changes to Corvidia’s executive management team were announced in concert with the closing of Series B funding. Four of the founding executive team members have been named to new positions: Rahul Kakkar MD is Chief Medical Officer and Chief Strategy Officer; Matt Devalaraja, DVM, PhD is Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development; Ram Aiyar, PhD, MBA is Executive Vice President and Head of Business Development. Corvidia’s former chief executive officer, Michael Davidson MD, was named Chief Science Officer upon the appointment of Mr. de Garidel as CEO.

Source: Company Press Release.