Star Therapeutics, a South San Francisco biotech, announced a $200 million private financing on Friday, Oct. 23, co-led by OrbiMed and Janus Henderson Investors.

Why it matters: The round comes after two big exits for Star: Incyte bought its subsidiary Vega Therapeutics in July in a deal worth up to $2 billion, and its spinout Electra Therapeutics raised $350 million in a September IPO, BioPharma Dive reported.

The deal

  • Other investors include RA Capital Management, Redmile, Sofinnova Investments, Cormorant Asset Management, New Leaf Venture Partners and a sovereign wealth fund the company did not name.
  • The money will push Star's preclinical programs into clinical trials and add new programs, the company said.

What is next

CEO Adam Rosenthal told BioPharma Dive the company will "go back into stealth mode" to study an undisclosed number of experimental biologic drugs for blood and immune conditions.

"We do not often invest in companies at this stage of development," said Vish Sridharan of Janus Henderson, who joins Star as a board observer.

Vega's lead drug, latarcibart, is in Phase 3 trials for von Willebrand disease, a bleeding disorder, according to Star.