Heptares raises GBP21M to finance pipeline

London, UK-based Heptares Therapeutics, a drug discovery company focused on drugs targeting G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs),  has raised  GBP21.0 million ($30.6 million) of equity finance in a successful series A  private round from three blue-chip international venture capital firms.  Clarus Ventures led the syndicate, which includes the founding investor,  MVM Life Science Partners, and the Novartis Option Fund. All three  contributed equally.

Michael Steinmetz for Clarus Ventures and Anja Koenig for the Novartis  Option Fund have joined the Heptares board of directors as non-executive  directors.

Over the next three years, Heptares intends to use the new funds to  develop its own pipeline of small-molecule drug candidates using its  proprietary StaR technology platform. These novel drug candidates will  be developed against currently-intractable GPCRs that are highly  validated targets for the treatment of disease. Further progress in the  application of StaR technology over this period is also expected to  yield commercial partnering opportunities outside the firm's core focus,  for example, improved therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs.