Westlake-backed Latigo Biotherapeutics Debuts with $135 Million Series A Financing to Develop Non-Opioid Pain Medicines

February 14, 2024

Westlake-backed Latigo Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing best-in-class non-opioid pain medicines that target pain at its source, today announced its emergence from stealth with a $135 million Series A financing. Westlake Village BioPartners incubated the company. Westlake led the Series A financing with 5AM Ventures and Foresite Capital as co-leads with participation from Corner Ventures.

Westlake-backed Kyverna Therapeutics Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering and Full Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase Additional Shares

February 12, 2024

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Feb. 12, 2024 — Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc. (Kyverna), a patient-centered clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cell therapies for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases, today announced the closing of its upsized initial public offering of 16,675,000 shares of its common stock, which includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option … Read More

Westlake Village BioPartners Launches $450 Million Fund and Appoints Next Generation of Leaders

July 17, 2023

Westlake today announced the launch of its third fund of $450 million to incubate and grow early stage next-generation biotechnology companies in the Los Angeles region and beyond. The new fund will be managed by founding managing director Beth Seidenberg, M.D., managing director Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., and David Allison, Ph.D., who was recently appointed managing director.

Westlake-Backed Kate Therapeutics Debuts With $51 Million Series A to Develop Next-Generation Genetic Medicines to Treat Muscle and Heart Diseases

June 8, 2023

Westlake-backed Kate Therapeutics Inc., a next-generation gene therapy company, today emerged from stealth mode with a $51 million Series A financing co-led by founding investor Westlake Village BioPartners and Versant Ventures, with participation from Osage University Partners and UF Innovate | Ventures. In addition, the company has granted Astellas Pharma Inc. an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize KT430 to treat X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM), the details of which are described in a separate press release issued today.

Kite to Acquire Westlake-backed Tmunity Therapeutics to Pursue Next Generation CAR T-Cell Therapy Advancements in Cancer

December 20, 2022

Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD), and Westlake-backed Tmunity Therapeutics (Tmunity), today announced that the companies have signed an agreement in which Kite will acquire Tmunity, a clinical-stage, private biotech company focused on next-generation CAR T-therapies and technologies. The acquisition of Tmunity complements Kite’s existing in-house cell therapy research capabilities by adding additional pipeline assets, platform capabilities, and a strategic research and licensing agreement with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn)

Westlake-Backed Dantari Launches With $47 million Series A

December 8, 2022

Dantari, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing best-in-class targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancers and other diseases, announced its emergence from stealth mode with $47 million Series A financing. The Series A financing was led by Westlake Village BioPartners and included participation from Corner Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Caltech. The Company also announced the appointment of Richard A. Markus, M.D., Ph.D., as president and CEO, and its board of directors, chaired by Sean Harper, M.D., a co-founding managing director at Westlake.

Westlake-Backed Arsenal Biosciences Announces $70 Million, Multi-Year Collaboration with Genentech

September 27, 2022

Arsenal Biosciences, Inc., a privately held programmable cell therapy company engineering advanced CAR T therapies for solid tumors, announced a multi-year collaboration with Genentech. The companies will deploy ArsenalBio’s proprietary technology for high-throughput screening and engineering of T cells to identify critical success circuits in T cell-based therapies.

Westlake-Backed ACELYRIN, INC. Closes $300 Million Series C Financing

September 14, 2022

ACELYRIN, INC., a Westlake-funded late-stage clinical biopharma company, will use the financing to accelerate Phase 3 development of izokibep, a unique IL-17A inhibitor to treat inflammatory diseases including psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis.

Westlake-Backed Arsenal Biosciences Closes $220 Million Series B Financing

September 8, 2022

Arsenal Biosciences, Inc., a privately held programmable cell therapy company engineering advanced CAR T therapies for solid tumors, announced the close of a $220 million Series B financing round. Proceeds from the financing will help the company expand its programmable cell therapy research activities and grow its pipeline of therapeutic candidates for solid tumor malignancies across a range of cancer indications.

Westlake-Backed 3T Biosciences Debuts with $40 Million Series A Financing

August 25, 2022

3T Biosciences, an immunotherapy company changing the future of treatment for solid tumors and other immune-mediated diseases, announced its launch from stealth backed by $40 million Series A financing led by Westlake Village BioPartners with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners. As part of its launch, 3T announced it has exclusively in-licensed from Stanford University a precise antibody-based peptide-HLA therapeutic discovery platform and development-stage MAGE-A3 T-cell receptor (TCR)-T assets to rapidly expand 3T’s therapeutic portfolio.

Neuron23 Closes $100 Million Series C Financing Round, Nominates Clinical Candidate for Parkinson’s Disease

March 30, 2022

Neuron23™ Inc., an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases, today announced it has closed a $100 million Series C financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, bringing the company’s total financing raised to date to $213.5 million. Neuron23’s Series A and B investors – Westlake Village BioPartners, Kleiner Perkins, Redmile Group, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Acorn Bioventures, HBM Partners, Perceptive Advisors, and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) – also participated in the Series C financing round.

Westlake-Backed Kyverna Therapeutics Closes $85 Million Series B Financing led by Northpond Ventures

January 26, 2022

Kyverna Therapeutics, a cell therapy company engineering a new class of therapies for serious autoimmune diseases, today announced it has closed an oversubscribed $85 million Series B financing round led by Northpond Ventures. Additional investors included the company’s founding investors Westlake Village BioPartners, Vida Ventures, and Gilead Sciences, with new investors RTW Investments, LP, CAM Capital, Insight Partners, HealthCor, LYFE Capital, Intellia Therapeutics, Argentum Peak, Hudson Bay Capital, and jVen Capital.

Westlake’s Beth Seidenberg Named HBA’s Woman of the Year

January 25, 2022

The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) announced Westlake’s Beth Seidenberg as the 2022 Woman of the Year. She was recognized for her significant contributions to healthcare and the advancement of women in the industry.

Westlake Village BioPartners Appoints Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., as Senior Partner

January 6, 2022

Westlake today announced the appointment of Mira Chaurushiya, Ph.D., to the position of senior partner. Dr. Chaurushiya will be a full investing partner at Westlake. She joins the firm from 5AM Ventures, where she spent more than six years growing and building next-generation life sciences companies.

Expansion Therapeutics Raises $80 Million Series B Financing to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases

September 29, 2021

Expansion Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing transformative oral medicines for severe RNA-mediated diseases, today announced the close of an $80 million Series B financing. Cormorant Asset Management led the financing with participation from new investors Westlake Village BioPartners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Logos Capital as well as Series A investors RA Capital Management, 5AM, Kleiner Perkins, Sanofi Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company’s small molecule RNA platform (SMIRNA™) to identify clinical candidates in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and various tauopathies.

Sean Harper joins podcast host Jim Baer on The Puck: Venture Capital & Beyond

May 10, 2021

On this episode of the weekly podcast The Puck: Venture Capital & Beyond, podcast host Jim Baer talks with Managing Partner at Westlake Village BioPartners Sean Harper, MD, about his experience working on the front lines of the medical industry and the ongoing evolution of the LA Biotech Hub. They discuss Harper’s background as a … Read More

Biotech Tilts at the Tipping Point of Gender Equality

May 6, 2021

Westlake’s co-founding managing director Beth Seidenberg was recently featured in BioSpace, discussing the advantages of a diverse team, a diverse boardroom and how it can fundamentally alter the trajectory of a company for the better. She also discusses the importance of committing to sustained mentorship at senior levels and the progress that can be made … Read More

Westlake-Backed Capsida Biotherapeutics Debuts with $140 Million of Capital

April 29, 2021

Versant Ventures and Westlake Village BioPartners today announced the emergence from stealth mode of Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering and cargo development platform to develop tissue-targeted gene therapies for multiple types of diseases. In addition to a $50 million Series A commitment from the two firms, Capsida also announced a multi-year strategic collaboration and option agreement with AbbVie that provides $90 million in up front and equity investment capital in addition to potential future option, development and commercial milestone payments. The collaboration is aimed at developing best-in-class, targeted gene therapies for three programs in serious neurodegenerative diseases.

Westlake Village BioPartners Names Peter Calveley as Chief Operating Officer

February 17, 2021

Westlake today announced the appointment of Peter Calveley to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Calveley will be responsible for managing the operational side of the firm, as well as enhancing strategic decision-making for Westlake’s portfolio of life sciences companies.

Westlake-Backed Tmunity Appoints Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D. as Board Chairman

January 25, 2021

We are pleased to welcome Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., as non-executive chairman of Tmunity’s Board of Directors. As a physician and scientist, Dr. Leiden has dedicated his career to improving the lives of people with serious diseases. We look forward to working with him as Tmunity advances its programs targeting solid tumors.

Neuron23™ Closes $113.5 Million Series A and B Financing led by Westlake Village BioPartners, Kleiner Perkins, and Redmile Group

December 16, 2020

Neuron23™ Inc., an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases, today announced its launch backed by a combined $113.5 million Series A and B financing. The funding was comprised of $33.5 million Series A financing from Westlake Village BioPartners and Kleiner Perkins, and $80 million Series … Read More

ACELYRIN Launches with Funding from Westlake Village BioPartners

December 15, 2020

ACELYRIN, INC., a biopharma company focused on providing patients life-changing new treatment options by identifying, acquiring, and accelerating development and commercialization of promising drug candidates, today announced its launch backed by Series A financing from Westlake Village BioPartners.

Westlake-Founded Kyverna Therapeutics Launches With $25 Million Series A

January 13, 2020

Westlake Village BioPartners is pleased to have founded and participated in the Series A financing of Kyverna Therapeutics, a cell therapy company engineering a new class of therapies for serious autoimmune diseases. Kyverna has raised $25 million in a Series A investment from Vida Ventures, Westlake Village BioPartners, and Gilead Sciences

Westlake Weighs in on Top Tech Trends for 2020

January 6, 2020

Fast Company recently published an article entitled, “The top tech trends of 2020, from AI to 5G.” Westlake Village BioPartners’ Sean Harper and Beth Seidenberg provided their perspective on the promising role gene therapy could play in the treatment of solid tumors. You can read more about what they and other industry leaders had to … Read More

Westlake-Funded Arsenal Biosciences Launches With $85 Million Series A

October 17, 2019

Westlake Village BioPartners is pleased to have seeded and been a major contributor to the Series A funding round for programmable cell therapy company Arsenal Biosciences. The company will integrate technologies such as CRISPR-based genome engineering, scaled and high throughput target identification, synthetic biology, and machine learning to advance a new paradigm to discover and develop immune cell therapies, initially for cancer.

Four Ingredients Needed to Build a Biotech Hub in LA

September 4, 2019

At the recent Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association meeting, several themes emerged as essential ingredients in building the Los Angeles biotech hub. Westlake Village BioPartners’ managing director Sean Harper participated in a panel discussion that examined the issues facing Los Angeles as it grows its life sciences industry. The event, titled “Los Angeles: The Next Major Biotechnology … Read More

Building the Biotech City

July 29, 2019

Los Angeles has a long history of reinventing itself. From a village of 5,000 people in the 1870s, focused on cattle farming and agriculture; to establishing ports, railways, banks and factories designed to challenge San Francisco; to producing one-quarter of the world’s total oil supply by 1923; to the boomtown days of Hollywood from 1913-1941; … Read More

Harper Provides Perspective on Life Sciences Investing Through Fresh Eyes

May 8, 2019

At the recent Yale University Innovation Summit, Westlake Village BioPartners managing director Sean Harper presented an overview of the current advances in life sciences, his views on what is happening in the biotech venture capital world right now, and also provided some advice to entrepreneurs on how to build a successful business. As part of … Read More

Seidenberg Talks Gene Editing

April 16, 2019

Recently, Beth Seidenberg made news at the Fortune Brainstorm Health conference, revealing that cell therapy startup Tmunity has brought a product into human clinical trials that has knocked out multiple cancer genes.

A Different Approach to Building a Successful Startup

March 26, 2019

Building a company from scratch can be exciting and rewarding and if you do it right you can change the world. However, it can also be challenging and is fraught with risk. While some venture capital firms are primarily focused on financials, at Westlake Village BioPartners our philosophy is to build world-class companies by taking a different approach.

Why Now is the Golden Age of Biotechnology

February 4, 2019

We are sprinting into what we believe is the Golden Age of Biotechnology—and the implications for humanity are profound. Just like in other industries in the past, such as aerospace and computing, we are now at an inflection point in biotechnology where we can address the most fundamental of human concerns: how to live longer, healthier lives, free of disease.