Oct. 19 Quick Takes: ‘Dark genome’ autoimmunity play Nucleome raises £37.5M series A

Nucleome Therapeutics Ltd. announced a £37.5 million ($42 million) series A round led by M Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Pfizer Ventures and British Patient Capital; founding investor Oxford Science Enterprises also joined the round. The Oxford-based company is identifying targets for autoimmune diseases in the non-protein-coding “dark genome” using a technique to map the 3-D genome at single-base pair resolution. The method, published in Nature last year, improves on existing chromosome conformation capture methods by using micrococcal nuclease to fragment the genome instead of restriction enzymes, and by using intact cells instead of chromatin or purified nuclei.

Seven years after its formation, Orionis Biosciences LLC raised $55 million in a series A round to advance a pair of technology platforms — one for designing molecular glues that attracted Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN; NYSE:NVS) several years ago, and another for developing conditionally active cytokine therapies for cancer. The company plans to use the funding to advance its lead cancer programs, based on it’s a-Kine cytokine platform, into the clinic. Cormorant Asset Management, Novartis and other investors participated in the round...