PureTech's Seaport closes $225m series B round

PureTech Health announced on Monday that Seaport Therapeutics, a company it founded, has closed an oversubscribed $225m series B financing round.

The FTSE 250 company said the funding was led by global growth investor General Atlantic, with participation from a number of high-profile investors, including T. Rowe Price Associates, Foresite Capital, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

PureTech retained a 36.7% equity stake in Seaport on a diluted basis following the round.

Since its launch in April, Seaport had raised a total of $325m.

PureTech said the latest funding would support the advancement of Seaport's clinical-stage pipeline of neuropsychiatric medicines, as well as further develop its proprietary ‘Glyph’ technology platform.

The platform was designed to enhance the oral bioavailability of drugs, reduce side effects related to liver metabolism, and improve the clinical viability of therapies hindered by these challenges.

It said the funds would be directed towards achieving key clinical milestones in Seaport’s development of first and best-in-class neuropsychiatric medicines.

“We're very pleased with Seaport's $225m series B financing,” said PureTech chief executive officer and Seaport board member Bharatt Chowrira.

“Led by a syndicate of top-tier investors, this milestone highlights the significant progress we're making across our portfolio.”

Chowrira said the support from the “stellar investor group” reinforced the value generated by PureTech’s research and development engine.

“As we look ahead to the upcoming data readout for our internal LYT-100 ‘deupirfenidone’ programme, we're excited to continue driving innovation across our portfolio with the goal of delivering impactful treatments that address significant medical needs.”

At 1106 BST, shares in PureTech Health were up 1.99% at 153.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.