Aileron closes $40M financing

Massachusetts, USA-based Aileron Therapeutics, a biotechnology company discovering and developing a novel class of therapeutics called stapled  peptides, says it has closed a $40.0-million series D financing. This  was co-led by new investors SR One, the independent corporate venture  fund of UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline, and Excel Medical Fund. The round  also included major participation by existing investors: Apple Tree  Partners, who is the founding investor of Aileron, and Novartis Venture  Fund. Lilly Ventures and Roche Venture Fund also participated in the  offering.

Proceeds will be used to advance Aileron's lead stapled peptide program  toward clinical trials in 2010 and to further advance this platform and  programs in oncology, immune/ inflammation, metabolic disease, and  infectious disease. These peptides are synthetically locked, or  "stapled," into an alpha-helical shape to create drug compounds that are  uniquely effective for targets that are "undruggable" with currently  available drug approaches.