US-based startup Bambusa Therapeutics has secured $90m in Series A financing to advance its pipeline of bispecific antibodies for immunological and inflammatory disorders into the clinic.
The funding round was led by RA Capital Management, with participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Redmile Group, Invus, and ADAR1 Capital Management, as well as existing investors.
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Bambusa was launched in May 2024 and previously raised $15m in seed financing, which closed in September 2024. That round was co-led by BVF Partners and KKR’s Dawn Biopharma, with additional backing from Salvia GmbH and INCE Capital. The company is being led by founder and CEO Shanshan Xu, who was previously vice president for external innovations at BioNTech.
The company’s pipeline includes four bispecific antibody candidates, with two programmes – BBT001 and BBT002 – set to enter the clinic later on in 2025. BBT001 is being investigated for dermatologic indications and is expected to enter a Phase I trial (NCT06808477) by the end of March. The trial aims to enrol 98 healthy volunteers and adult patients with atopic dermatitis.
BBT002, designed for respiratory, dermatology, and gastroenterology indications, has completed preclinical studies and is slated to enter human trials by mid-2025. Bambusa describes BBT002 as a “platform in a molecule,” with potential applications across multiple inflammatory disease areas.
Bambusa’s additional candidates, BBT003 and BBT004, are in earlier stages of development. BBT003 is being developed for inflammatory bowel disease, while BBT004 is focused on rheumatology. The company has not shared timelines for these programmes but describes them as having “best-in-disease” potential.
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By GlobalDataIn the announcement accompanying the funding, RA Capital partner Derek DiRocco said: “The next wave of therapeutics for patients with immunology and inflammation disorders will be both more efficacious and convenient than currently available options.
“The Bambusa Therapeutics pipeline fits this profile, as their half-life extended bispecific antibodies were designed to target complementary disease-driving signalling pathways, affording the potential for a best-in-disease profile for patients.”
The bispecific antibody market is one that is already crowded. It has seen increasing investment from pharmaceutical companies looking to expand their immunology and inflammation portfolios. In August 2024, MSD announced plans to acquire a CD3 and CD19-targeting T cell engager bispecific antibody, CN201, from Curon Biopharmaceutical. The deal is worth approximately $1.3bn in upfront and milestone-based payments. In May 2024, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) paid $1.25bn to acquire global rights for Numab Therapeutics’ IL-4R and IL-31-targeting bispecific antibody.
