- Financing includes participation from new investor Nextech1 along with existing investors Arch Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda Ventures and Others
- Proceeds will Advance BE-101 Through Clinical Proof-of-Concept and Progress BE-102 to the Clinic
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 15, 2025 – Be Biopharma, Inc. (“Be Bio” or “the Company”), a leader in B Cell Medicines (BCMs), today announced the closing of its $92M Series C financing. The round includes participation from new investor Nextech with existing investors including ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Takeda Ventures, among others. In conjunction with the financing, Melissa McCracken, Ph.D. of Nextech will join Be Bio’s Board of Directors.
The proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to generate clinical proof-of-concept for BE-101 in the ongoing BeCoMe-9 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for people with hemophilia B and to advance BE-102 for the treatment of hypophosphatasia to the clinic. Both programs are built on Be Bio’s BCM product platform, creating durable, titratable, and redosable therapeutics that require no preconditioning and produce sustained and constant levels of therapeutic proteins.
“With this funding in hand, we are well-equipped to advance our two lead programs and solidify our position as a multi-program, clinical-stage company,” said Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Be Bio. “We are on track to demonstrate clinical proof-of-concept for BE-101 in Hemophilia B this year. Additionally, BE-102 is poised to enter the clinic next year, potentially demonstrating BCMs’ potential to become a new gold standard in enzyme replacement by providing hypophosphatasia patients with a transformative new option. I am grateful to our existing and new investors, who share our vision that BCMs can transform the treatment landscape for a wide range of diseases with potentially best-in-class medicines.”
“We are excited to partner with Be Biopharma at this pivotal stage,” stated Melissa McCracken, Ph.D., Partner at Nextech. “Be Bio has established itself as a leader in this field with their lead programs having best-in-class potential. We believe BCMs, as a class, could revolutionize treatment paradigms across indications . We look forward to supporting their groundbreaking work and witnessing the transformative impact on patient care.”
About Nextech Invest
Nextech is a global, therapeutics-focused venture capital firm headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland with offices in Boston and San Francisco, USA. Nextech invests in the most promising drug discovery companies primarily in oncology and adjacent diseases, with the potential to create multiple medicines. Nextech’s portfolio is focused throughout the US and Europe with investments from company inceptions to public financings. For more information, please visit: www.nextechinvest.com
About BE-101
BE-101 is a first-in-class BCM that is engineered to insert the human Factor IX (FIX) gene into primary human B cells, allowing for continuous expression of active FIX for the treatment of hemophilia B. BE-101 has the potential to express sustained therapeutic FIX activity levels with a single infusion while having the flexibility to be titrated and/or re-dosed, and without the need for preconditioning. The potential to maintain therapeutic FIX activity levels while the reducing dosing frequency associated with current FIX replacement regimens could address the considerable infusion burden associated with current therapies and potentially drive reductions in the annualized bleeding rates and FIX usage. The US FDA cleared the BE-101 IND in May of 2024, and granted Fast Track designation in September of 2024. The Phase 1/2 BeCoMe-9 Trial has been initiated and further details of the trial can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT identifier: NCT06611436.
About BE-102
BE-102 is a first-in-class BCM that has been engineered using artificial intelligence-guided protein design to modify primary human B cells to produce ALP, an enzyme deficient in people living with HPP. A single infusion of BE-102 has the potential to express sustained therapeutic ALP with the flexibility to be titrated and/or re-dosed, if needed, and without the need for pre-conditioning. BE-102 has been selected as a Development Candidate and has the potential to transform the standard of care for people living with HPP.
About Engineered B Cell Medicines – A New Class of Cellular Medicines
The B cell is a powerful cell that produces thousands of proteins per cell per second at constant levels, and over decades. Precision genome editing can now be used to engineer B Cells that produce therapeutic proteins of interest, driving a new class of cellular medicines – Engineered B Cell Medicines (BCMs) – with the potential to be durable, allogeneic, redosable, and administered without pre-conditioning. The promise of BCMs could transform therapeutic biologics across protein classes, patient populations and therapeutic areas.
About Be Biopharma
Be Biopharma (“Be Bio”) is pioneering Engineered B Cell Medicines (BCMs) to dramatically improve the lives of patients who are living with Hemophilia B and other genetic diseases, cancer, and other serious conditions. With eyes locked on the patient, our team of purpose-driven scientists, technologists, manufacturing experts and business builders collaborate to create a bold new class of cell therapies. Be Bio was founded in October 2020, and is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, RA Capital Management, Nextech, Alta Partners, Longwood Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda Ventures, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and others to re-imagine medicine based on the power of Engineered B cells. For more information, please visit us at Be.Bio and our LinkedIn page.
Investor Contact:
ir@be.bio
Media Contact:
media@be.bio
- Nextech Invest Ltd, on behalf of one or more funds managed by it.
