Dewpoint Therapeutics raises $77 million to go after ‘undruggable’ diseases

Dewpoint Therapeutics announced Tuesday that it has raised $77 million in its second round of venture funding, which will help the company continue to target “undruggable” diseases through an emerging field in cell biology.

The Boston-based biotech works on organelles inside cells called biomolecular condensates, which it believes can be harnessed to treat diseases including cancer and rare genetic disorders. Condensates are membrane-less droplets that help cells perform vital functions.

The funding round was led by Chicago-based ARCH Venture Partners, bringing Dewpoint’s total venture financing to $137 million. The deal attracted new investors Maverick Ventures and Bellco Capital, and previous investors Leaps by Bayer, EcoR1 Capital, Polaris Partners, Samsara BioCapital, and Innovation Endeavors also participated in the round.

“Today’s announcement underscores the interest in biomolecular condensates among investors with a track record of backing groundbreaking science,” Amir Nashat, managing partner of Polaris Partners and interim chief executive of Dewpoint, said in a news release.

Since its founding in 2018, Dewpoint has signed deals with two pharmaceutical giants. In July, Dewpoint announced a collaboration with Merck & Co. to work on the treatment of HIV, and in November, Dewpoint announced it would work with German pharmaceutical company Bayer to develop new treatments for cardiovascular and gynecological diseases.

Dewpoint also announced Tuesday that Giuseppe Ciaramella, the president and chief scientific officer of Beam Therapeutics, would join its board of directors. Prior to Beam, Ciaramella worked at Moderna in Cambridge, first as head of immunology and biotherapeutics and then as chief scientific officer of its infectious diseases division.

Anissa Gardizy can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8.

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