May 11, 2021 7:00am
Nuvalent will use the money to fund clinical development of its parallel lead programs, NVL-520 and NVL-655. (Robina Weermeijer/Unsplash)
Nuvalent has raised $135 million to take ROS1 and ALK kinase inhibitors into the clinic. The series B, which comes months after Nuvalent disclosed a $50 million round, sets Nuvalent up to study drugs designed to improve on products such as Roche’s Alecensa and Pfizer’s Xalkori.
Kinase inhibitors have improved cancer outcomes by binding to enzymes that drive the proliferation, survival and metastasis of tumors. However, changes to the binding sites lead to resistance, creating a need for treatments that are effective in patients who stop responding to existing drugs. Nuvalent is working to deliver those treatments.