ReViral raises $55 million in Series B financing round

Antiviral drug discovery and development company, ReViral, has successfully completed its Series B financing round, raising $55 million in funding.

This money will be used to progress ReViral’s lead drug candidate (RV521) — a highly potent and orally bioavailable potential treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections — into Phase IIa paediatric and adult trials. Additionally, the company will continue the development of a novel series of antiviral inhibitors targeting RSV replication.

RV521 is expected to enter the clinical trial soon and the company anticipates that more trials in adult stem cell transplant patients will follow. Currently, there are no approved RSV therapies and as a cause of an estimated annual 200,000 deaths worldwide in children under five alone, there is an urgent need for improved drugs for this indication.

The financing was jointly led by New Leaf Venture Partners and Novo Ventures, part of Novo Holdings A/S, with additional new investment from Perceptive Advisors. Existing investors Andera Partners, OrbiMed and Brace Pharma Capital also participated in the financing round.

“We are excited to welcome our new investors to the company. This financing by top-tier funds is a validation of ReViral’s scientific approach to discovering and developing novel antiviral therapies for RSV, a significant unmet medical need,” revealed Dr Ken Powell, executive chairman of ReViral’s Board. “This milestone also demonstrates the significant progress made by the ReViral team since completing its Series A fundraise of $21 million in September 2015.”

“The lack of treatment options available and the limited competition in RSV offer a significant market for innovative therapies,” stressed Isaac Manke, partner at New Leaf Venture Partners. “We believe ReViral has a truly superior product candidate, and the Company’s focus gives it the potential to build a franchise of RSV programmes, eventually expanding into all the diseases associated with infection by this virus.”

Nanna Luneborg, Partner at Novo Ventures, added: “We have been following the RSV field for some time and see ReViral as a leader in this space. We are delighted to offer our investment expertise, furthering the development of the company as it moves into paediatric trials.”