Emeryville-based Totus Medicines secures $66M series B round funding led by DCVC Bio. Neil Dhawan, Ph.D, Totus co-founder, founding CEO, and CSO, will transition into a new role as CSO and Head of R&D, where he will continue to oversee the company’s platform, programs, and data.
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DCVC Bio Managing Partner John Hamer said, “We are thrilled by Nassim’s arrival, He brings exceptional experience and acumen to a company poised to bring much-needed therapies to market. I’m equally excited by the fact that Neil – whose vision and determination have brought Totus to where it is – will continue to contribute at a senior level to the company’s rapid growth.”
Dhawan said, “Nassim is exactly the right leader for Totus, His extensive drug development background and vision for the Totus platform will help lead us through the next phase of growth for the company. His strong management experience will help shape Totus as we continue to advance breakthrough therapeutics, and just as importantly, Nassim embodies our culture and values.”
Before joining Totus Medicines, Dr. Usman served as President, CEO and Board member at Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ:CBIO, now Gyre Therapeutics, NASDAQ:GYRE).
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Dr. Usman has an extensive background in C-Suite management (CSO, COO, CEO and Principal Financial Officer), Board membership on and venture capital investing (Morgenthaler Ventures) in several private and public companies including Sirna Therapeutics (acquired by Merck) and Principia Biopharma (acquired by Sanofi).
Dr. Usman said, “Neil and the entire team at Totus have built an extraordinary a platform that has the potential to transform small molecule discovery and have built a pipeline of clinical candidates led by TOS-358, a covalent inhibitor of PI3Ka in the clinic, I am delighted to join Neil, our investors and the team as we build out the platform and advance our clinical development pipeline.”
The company closed the final tranche of a Series B financing totaling $66 million, led by DCVC Bio and including the participation of North Pond Ventures, Camford Capital, and the Regents of the University of Minnesota.
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About Totus Medicines
Totus Medicines is developing transformative covalent medicines for incurable diseases by utilising cutting-edge chemical biology technologies.
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