Vyriad Inc., a company that's engineering cancer-killing viruses, announced Tuesday it raised $29.5 million in Series B funding.
The round was led by Harry Stine of Stine Seed Farms, with participation from existing investors including Mayo Clinic, Mirae Asset, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund (SMCF).
The latest funding is in addition to a $30 million Series B round the company closed on in early 2020, CEO Dr. Stephen Russell said.
Russell said the Rochester-based company will use the funding to develop pipeline technology used to treat more types of cancer.
Vyriad employs about 70 people out of its 25,000-square-foot-facility on the Rochester Technology Center campus. Half of those workers are employed by Imanis Life Sciences, a sister company that supports Vyriad's functions.
Vyriad currently has a partnership with Tarrytown-based Regeneron to conduct clinical trials for Vyriad's Voyager-V1 virus platform.
Russell said the Voyager-V1 trials have shown a strong response in treating t-cell lymphoma.
Researchers have been trying to engineer viruses to attack cancer cells since at least the 1950s. But the field is finally gaining more traction as gene editing therapy advances, Russell said.
"The technology is marching on, and it's unstoppable," he said. "For a long time it's been when, not how, and I can smell it now."
Vyriad has raised over $100 million since it was founded in 2015.
