Semma raises $114 million for Type 1 diabetes treatment

Semma Therapeutics has raised $114 million in a new funding round that will help the biotech startup test its novel treatment for Type 1 diabetes in humans. Cowen, which just financed $108 million for its health care venture capital fund, co-led the round with Eight Roads Ventures.

Why it matters: If Semma succeeds with its research and technology — which uses stem cells to generate insulin-producing cells — it would create a breakthrough medicine for people who have Type 1 diabetes, which is rarer than Type 2 and cannot be prevented.