TARIS Biomedical Announces $25M Series B Financing

TARIS Biomedical, a company developing targeted new therapies for millions of patients suffering from difficult-to-treat bladder diseases, announced today that it has raised $25M in a Series B financing. This round was led by Yonghua Capital, with participation from new investors Bristol-Myers Squibb and Norma Investments, representing businessman Roman Abramovich. Existing investors Flagship Pioneering, Polaris Partners, and RA Capital Management, also participated in the Series B round.

In a separate announcement (link), TARIS also announced that it has entered into a clinical research collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb to study the combination of Opdivo®(nivolumab) and TARIS’ lead program TAR-200 (GemRIS™) in the treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer.

"We have made substantial progress on our lead programs in bladder cancer and overactive bladder," said Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D., President and CEO of TARIS. "Both programs demonstrate our unique approach to designing novel therapeutics that may dramatically change the management of these serious diseases. Funds from this round will be used to rapidly advance both indications through key clinical milestones."

"TARIS is thrilled to add new investors to our syndicate, and we are grateful to Flagship Pioneering, Polaris Partners, and RA Capital Management for their ongoing support," Sarma continued.

"We are excited to join the new and existing investors in this financing round, and to help TARIS build substantial long-term value as a focused urology company," said Moses Zhao, Managing Partner, North American Healthcare Investment for Yonghua Capital.

About the TARIS® System

The TARIS® System is designed to continuously release drugs in the bladder over weeks to months. It is deployed and retrieved using minimally-invasive, in-office procedures. This technology allows drug release to be tailored to match the needs of each disease.

About TARIS Biomedical®

TARIS Biomedical® is building a unique therapeutically-focused urology company, developing targeted new treatments for millions of patients suffering from difficult-to-treat bladder diseases. We are advancing therapies for debilitating conditions, including bladder cancer and overactive bladder, enabled by continuous local dosing where it is needed. www.tarisbiomedical.com

About Yonghua Capital

Yonghua Capital is the fund management company under Yongjin Group, which has been actively involved in China domestic equity investments for over 20 years with great success and track record of return on investment. Yonghua North America is specializing in sourcing and investing in innovative and breakthrough technologies and products in the healthcare sector. By leveraging their knowledge, network and operational knowhow about China, Yonghua helps to bridge knowledge gaps and meet the challenges facing their portfolio companies in achieving regulatory, commercial and market success in China.