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Enveda, a clinical-stage drug developer, raised a $150 million Series D at a valuation north of $1 billion, CEO Viswa Colluru tells Axios Pro.

Why it matters: The company has raised $350 million in the last 15 months as it prepares to finance multiple clinical trials. 

The big picture: More early-stage biotech companies are seeking collaboration or licensing deals with Big Pharma to extend their runway as they develop a new drug.

Yes, but: Enveda plans to go it alone — for now, Colluru says.

"Partnering too early doesn't allow fundamental value to be written to the company," he says. "We want to … sell assets at the right value, such that we have a large amount of capital needed to take other assets all the way to the finish line and launch."

How it works: Boulder, Colorado-based Enveda has 16 preclinical programs and more than a dozen development candidates targeting a range of indications.

Its lead program, ENV-294, is an oral anti-inflammatory small molecule for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

Enveda says its chemical sequencer uses machine learning and metabolomics to discover new drugs faster and cheaper than traditional industry methods.

What they're saying: "Our approach is to start with the chemistry of living systems and use that to probe biological pathways so we can find not just new chemistry, but also new mechanisms of action," Colluru says.

What's next: The new financing will support several Enveda programs into Phase 1b and Phase 2 trials, as well as filing investigational new drug applications to the FDA this year.

Zoom in:  Premji Invest led, joined by new and existing investors Baillie Gifford, Kinnevik, Lingotto, Peakline Partners, FPV, Socium Ventures, Dimension, Level Ventures, Henry R. Kravis, IA Ventures and Lux Capital.

"Enveda has now demonstrated that its discovery process is repeatable, and early clinical results uphold the promise of these candidates," Premji Invest's Akshay Rai tells Axios Pro.

Pfizer chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten, credited with advancing more than 150 of the company's drug candidates, joined Enveda's board, the company said Thursday.

Flashback: Colluru, a Recursion Pharmaceuticals alum, says he was inspired to pursue drug development after his mother was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia at a time when there was no treatment.

"That led me to pretty much make drug discovery and learning about biology … my north star," Colluru says.

The bottom line: "Aspirin taught us about how inflammation works, not the other way around,"  Colluru says. "Our goal is to find the next 50 or 100 Aspirins."

Enveda raises $150M for drug development, hits unicorn status

The funding will support multiple new drug programs.

Enveda, a clinical-stage drug developer, raised a $150 million Series D at a valuation north of $1 billion, CEO Viswa Colluru tells Axios Pro.Why it matters: The company has raised $350 million in the last 15 months as it prepares to finance multiple clinical trials.

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Enveda raises $150M for drug development, hits unicorn status

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