Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Bill Gates-backed startup Nimbus Discovery closes $24M funding

By Michelle Lang

Nimbus Discovery LLC, a computational technology-based drug discovery firm in Cambridge, has closed a $24 million Series A funding round, co-led by Atlas Venture, SR One and Lilly Ventures. Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates returned to participate in funding as well.

The $24 million is expected to support Nimbus’ IRAK4 and ACC programs to treat inflammation, cancer and metabolic diseases, per a Nimbus news release.

The first-round funding entails new additions to the Nimbus Discovery board of directors, including SR One Partner Ken Gossett and Steve Hall, venture partner at Lilly Ventures. They join Nimbus’ current board, which includes Atlas Venture Partner Bruce Booth, former Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. president Vicki Sato, and Ramy Farid, Nimbus co-founder and president of Schrödinger.

Nimbus Discovery announced in March that it had extended its seed round, for an undisclosed amount at the time, with an investment by Gates, Schrödinger co-founder Richard Friesner and Atlas Venture.

In 2010, Nimbus established a strategic partnership that gives it access to Schrödinger’s software technology and exclusive rights to key targets. Gates contributed $10 million in an investment in Schrödinger to accelerate R&D as well.

A blog post in March by Booth both introduced Nimbus Discovery, which had been in stealth mode since its founding in 2009, and reiterated that Gates has been a long-time biotech supporter, even before Nimbus.