Versant Ventures Launches Dayra Therapeutics with $70M Funding and Biogen Partnership for Oral Macrocyclic Peptides
核心洞察
Versant Ventures (搜索) announced the launch of Dayra Therapeutics (搜索), a startup focused on developing oral macrocyclic peptides (搜索) for serious diseases with over $70 million in committed funding.
The company secured a foundational partnership with Biogen that provides $50 million in upfront capital to identify, validate and optimize oral macrocycle candidates for immunological targets (搜索).
Dayra emerged from Versant's Frontier Discovery Engine and has already made significant progress advancing molecules against high-value targets in immunology and other therapeutic areas.
Versant Ventures (搜索) has launched Dayra Therapeutics (搜索), a new biotech startup focused on developing oral macrocyclic peptides (搜索) for serious diseases, with more than $70 million in committed funding secured through a foundational partnership with Biogen Inc. and equity investment from Versant.
The company emerged from Versant's Frontier Discovery Engine, which spans Toronto and Montreal and houses multi-disciplinary scientists in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in Canada. During its seed stage, Dayra made significant progress advancing molecules against several high-value targets in the immunology space as well as other therapeutic fields.
Strategic Partnership with Biogen
Under the collaboration agreement, Biogen and Dayra will work together to identify, validate and optimize oral macrocycle candidates for high-priority immunological targets (搜索). Biogen will provide $50 million in upfront capital and will advance the molecules through further development and potential commercialization, including manufacturing responsibilities.
The partnership structure includes options for Biogen to acquire each development candidate for additional upfront and milestone payments per program, providing Dayra with potential future revenue streams beyond the initial $50 million payment.
"Biogen is an ideal partner for Dayra, bringing complementary capabilities and insights," said Roger Palframan, Ph.D., Dayra's Chief Scientific Officer. "Our talented research team is looking forward to working in close collaboration to deploy our novel approaches to discover and deliver oral macrocycle therapies for immunology."
Macrocycle Drug Development Platform
Dayra combines its macrocycle discovery platform with computational design and modeling to advance novel macrocyclic peptides that selectively target disease-relevant proteins. The company's approach focuses on developing oral formulations of these complex molecules, addressing a significant challenge in the macrocycle field.
"The field of macrocycles is at a new inflection point and is starting to deliver meaningful medicines," said Rami Hannoush, Ph.D., venture partner at Versant and Dayra's acting CEO. "Dayra has brought together insights and enablement from Versant's Frontier Discovery Engine, exceptional leadership with deep macrocycle drug development expertise, and this foundational collaboration with Biogen, putting the company in a very strong position."
Company Foundation and Leadership
Dayra was founded in 2024 by Versant Ventures (搜索) through the firm's Frontier Discovery Engine, which operates similarly to Versant's U.S. and European-based Discovery Engines. The company benefits from Versant's hands-on approach to company building and the firm's deep investment, operating and R&D expertise.
Versant Ventures (搜索), with $5.5 billion under management and offices in the U.S., Canada and Europe, has a track record of successful biotech company development, with more than 100 Versant companies achieving successful acquisitions or IPOs since the firm's founding in 1999.