Swiss Biotech Anokion Raises $40 Million in Series B Round

By Colin Kellaher

Swiss biotechnology startup Anokion SA on Wednesday said it raised $40 million in a Series B financing at an undisclosed valuation, bringing total equity and partner capital to more than $160 million.

Anokion, which is developing technology for retraining white blood cells to induce therapeutic immune tolerance, also said it has acquired Kanyos Bio Inc., adding KAN-101, a treatment for celiac disease, to its portfolio.

Existing investors Versant Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund and Novo Ventures participated in a round, along with Celgene Corp. (CELG), which formed a collaboration with Anokion in early 2017.

Anokion's lead product, ANK-780, is an antigen-specific treatment for multiple sclerosis. The company said it expects to have ANK-780 and KAN-101 in clinical development within the next 12 months.

Kanyos was formed in 2015 through a collaboration with Anokion and Astellas Pharma Inc. (4503.TO), at which time Astellas made an equity investment in the company. Anokion and Astellas mutually ended the collaboration last year, and Kanyos has been operating as an independent company since then.

-Brian Gormley contributed to this article.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 11, 2019 12:09 ET (16:09 GMT)

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