Biotech startup Hummingbird raises extra US$6m in extended Series B funding

SINGAPORE-BASED Hummingbird Bioscience, which is developing antibody drugs for cancer treatment, has raised an additional US$6 million, closing its extended Series B funding round at US$25 million, it said on Monday.

This comes after it announced a US$19 million Series B fundraise co-led by South Korea's Mirae Asset Venture Investment and GNTech Venture Capital in December last year.

The latest injection of funds brings the total capital Hummingbird has raised through financing activities and strategic partnerships to more than US$65 million to date.

Leading the Series B extension is new investor SK Holdings, with participation from existing shareholders, including Heritas Capital and Seeds Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.

According to Hummingbird, the Series B round was extended due to over-subscription, with the addition of "quality and value-add investors".

The company said it will use the additional funds to accelerate the development of new candidates into clinical trials and strengthen its scientific and research and development capabilities.

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Chik Wai Chiew, executive director and chief executive of Heritas Capital Management, said: "Even as the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a slow-down in investing, we are mindful that backing leading innovative biotech companies, especially players such as Hummingbird, to develop cures for addressing patients' needs remains our priority."

Earlier this year, the company announced publication of positive data on its lead candidate HMDB-001, a HER3 antibody, and the manufacturing of HMBD-002, a VISTA antibody. Regulatory submissions to initiate Phase 1 studies for these two candidates are expected in the second half of 2020, the company said.

The HER3 protein is associated with conditions such as lung, gastric and colorectal cancer, while VISTA is linked to liver cancer and certain types of breast cancer and lymphoma.