MPM Capital and Qiming Venture Partners USA have co-led a series A round for Umoja Biopharma, based on research at Purdue University and Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

Umoja Biopharma, a US-based in-vivo immunotherapy platform developer exploiting research from Purdue University and Seattle Children’s Research Institute, launched with a $53m series A round on Wednesday co-led by MPM Capital and Qiming Venture Partners USA. Founded in early 2019, Umoja is working on an integrated in-vivo immunotherapy platform targeting blood cancers and solid tumours, aiming to deliver its treatments with a simplicity and cost efficiency that enable widespread use. Umoja advances work led by Philip Low, the presidential scholar for drug discovery and the Ralph C. Corley distinguished professor of chemistry at Purdue University. Low sits on Umoja’s board of directors. Low worked with chief executive Andy Scharenberg, a principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and a professor of paediatrics and immunology at University of Washington. The research institute is a unit of paediatric care provider Seattle Children’s. Another co-founder is chief technology officer Ryan Crisman, who was previously the executive director of the Gates Manufacturing Facility, the cell-based and protein biologics manufacturing facility at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Michael Jensen, chief therapeutics officer of Seattle Children’s and a professor at University of Washington, is also a co-founder and sits on the spinout’s advisory board. The series A financing has been allocated to advancing Umoja’s platform and programmes to early-stage clinical development, hiring staff and supporting research activities. MPM Capital and DCVC Bio provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital at an unspecified date to help form the spinout.

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Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).