RTP-based Humacyte raises $150M financing round

Humacyte, a Research Triangle Park-based biotechnology company, announced Tuesday that it has raised $150 million in financing from a group of global investors.

The financing round is among the largest private rounds raised by a biotech company.

“We are elated by this overwhelming response, and our investors are excited to be part of the effort to bring such ground-breaking technology to patients,” said Carrie S. Cox, Humacyte’s CEO and chairman, in a statement.

The money will support the company’s upcoming Phase 3 clinical trials for its HumaGraft treatment, which is intended for patients undergoing hemodialysis. Hemodialysis is a treatment process that performs the job of the kidneys and is used on patients experiencing kidney failure – the last stage of chronic kidney disease.

The treatment filters a few ounces of blood at a time, removing excess water and waste, then returns the blood to the patient’s body.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration assigned fast track status to HumaGraft. The designation accelerates the review process for the treatment. The FDA applies it to drugs that have the potential to offer significant improvement in treatment compared with products already on the market.

Investors in Humacyte’s Series B round include Access Industries, Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd., Pacific Eagle Asset Management, Reignwood Group and two individuals, Brady Dougan and Gavril Yushvaev.

Dougan has been a member of Humacyte’s board of directors since 2005, and is a former CEO of Credit Suisse Group AP, the Zurick-based financial services company. Yushvaev is a Russian entrepreneur and investor who previously founded one of Europe’s largest dairy products companies.

Humacyte was founded in 2004 by a Duke University researcher, Laura Niklason, and two of her former Duke students, Juliana Blum and Shannon Dahl.

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 1:22 PM with the headline "RTP-based Humacyte raises $150M financing round."