Orphan drug accelerator Cydan raises $34M

Cydan Development Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.), which operates an accelerator that spins out rare genetic disease companies, raised $34 million on Oct. 17 in a round led by existing investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA). New investor Longitude Capital and existing investors Pfizer Venture Investments, Alexandria Venture Investments and Lundbeckfond Ventures also participated.

Cydan launches newcos to de-risk and develop assets sourced from academia, not-for-profits and industry. CEO Chris Adams told BioCentury the accelerator's new investment vehicle, Cydan II Inc., will focus on small molecules, peptides, proteins and oligonucleotides, and will avoid gene therapies. Adams said the firm will target diseases with high unmet needs, while avoiding highly competitive areas such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)...