Bitterroot Bio, a biotech company that aims to develop immunotherapies for cardiovascular disease, has announced its emergence from stealth mode and a $145 million series A funding round, the largest-ever investment for a preclinical CVD-focused biotech.

The Palo Alto-based company, founded by Drs Nicholas Leeper and Irving Weissman, is on a mission to revolutionize cardiovascular therapeutics and tackle the global burden of heart disease, which claims nearly 18 million lives annually. The company plans to leverage insights from the fields of oncology and autoimmune diseases, where immunotherapies have shown remarkable results, to target inflammation and the immune response in atherosclerosis and other serious cardiovascular disorders.

The series A funding round was led by ARCH Venture Partners and Deerfield Management, with participation from Google Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies and others. The funds will be used to advance the company’s pipeline of novel therapeutics, which include monoclonal antibodies, cell therapies and gene therapies.

Dr Pavan Cheruvu, the CEO of Bitterroot Bio, said that the company is excited to bring its deep expertise in immunology and cardiology to develop transformative therapies that have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with CVD.

“Cardiovascular disease represents an enormous global health burden, and there is a pressing need for safe and effective therapies,” he said. “Our team is excited to leverage our deep expertise in immunology and cardiology to develop transformative therapies that have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with atherosclerosis and other serious cardiovascular disorders.”

He also noted that the company’s emergence from stealth and impressive funding round reflect the strong interest and support from the investors and the scientific community.

“We are grateful for the support of our investors and collaborators, who share our vision of bringing innovative immunotherapies to patients with cardiovascular disease,” he said. “We look forward to advancing our pipeline and delivering on our promise of revolutionizing cardiovascular therapeutics.”

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