OrbiMed Asia leads Laekna's $18.5M series A

Laekna Therapeutics Shanghai Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China) raised $18.5 million in a series A round led by OrbiMed Asia, with participation from AnlongMed.

Laekna said it has three candidates in Phase I-II testing to treat various cancers and drug discovery programs in cancer and liver disease, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatic cirrhosis.

Last year, Laekna acquired worldwide rights to develop and commercialize LAE001 (formerly CFG920), oral CYP17 inhibitor, from Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN).