Granite Bio is ready to rock ‘n’ roll, unveiling with $100 million and hopes of shaping new antibody treatments targeting several autoimmune diseases. The funding consists of a $30 million series A led by founding investors Versant Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund, plus a $70 million series B round led by Forbion and Sanofi Ventures, according to an April 24 release. The cash will go toward polishing two lead molecules, both of which were developed with Versant’s Ridgeline Discovery Engine in Switzerland and originated from the lab of scientific co-founder Matthias Mack, who is a professor at the University of Regensburg in Germany. One of the antibody candidates—dubbed GRT-001—is designed to drain pro-inflammatory monocytes, which are known to drive autoimmunity and inflammation. The investigational treatment is currently undergoing phase 1a testing in healthy volunteers, with a phase 1b trial for patients with inflammatory bowel disease slated for later this year. In nonhuman primate studies, GRT-001 dose-dependently depleted pro-inflammatory monocytes, according to Granite.

Full report : European biotech startup, Granite Bio raises $100 million for discovery of new autoimmune disease antibodies.