Romulus Capital Leads $14M Series C for Vyome Biosciences

8/23/16

Vyome Biosciences, a clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines for treating skin diseases caused by resistant microbes, announced today that it has closed a $14 million Series C financing round. This financing round was led by Perceptive Advisors, a leading New York-based life sciences fund, and Romulus Capital, a Boston-based venture capital firm, along with participation from existing investors including Kalaari Capital, Sabre Partners and Aarin Capital.

"The support from leading global and leading life investors and the continued support from our largest existing shareholders validates our Company's strategy, science and development programs. The Company will utilize these funds predominantly to advance the clinical development of our lead product, VB 1953, while continuing to develop other proprietary products in our pipeline," said Venkateswarlu Nelabhotla (N. Venkat), Co-Founder & CEO, Vyome Biosciences.

"Vyome is well positioned with a rich pipeline to become a leader in antimicrobial resistance and treatment of skin infections with this new funding round," remarked Dr. Shiladitya Sengupta, Co-Founder of Vyome and an assistant professor of medicine atHarvard Medical School.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, acne represents the most common skin disease, affecting 40-50 million people in the United States, including 85 percent of teenagers. Approximately 40 percent of people with acne are suffering from antibiotic resistance. Physicians around the world have cited a large unmet need for new, improved topical therapy options, vis-à-vis the current available topical products. Vyome's VB 1953 targets this patient population and a potential market of USD $2 billion. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted Vyome's Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for VB 1953, and the company soon will initiate clinical studies in the United States.

In addition to VB 1953, Vyome has a deep pipeline of preclinical new chemical entities, unique in their ability to overcome the development of resistance based on its patented Dual Action Rational Therapeutics (DARTs) technology. In addition, Vyome has clinically proven antifungal products based on its breakthrough technology platform Molecular Replacement Therapy (MRT), for which Vyome is currently pursuing commercialization discussions globally.

About Vyome Biosciences

Vyome Biosciences is an innovation driven clinical stage bio-pharmaceutical company, which has novel platforms technologies and a deep pipeline of novel drugs for antibiotic resistant acne, other opportunistic pathogens and antifungal agents in Dermatology. Vyome anticipates initiating clinical trials for its lead program VB 1953 for the treatment of antibiotic resistant acne following FDA acceptance of its IND recently. Vyome has assembled a world-class team of scientific and management experts from India and the United States who collectively have a significant track record of conducting acclaimed scientific research, developing breakthrough products and building sustainable businesses. More information is available athttp://www.vyome.in

About Perceptive AdvisorsFounded in 1999, Perceptive Advisors, LLC is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor focused on supporting the progress of the life sciences industry by identifying opportunities & directing financial resources to the most promising technologies in healthcare. The firm invests globally in public biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, and health services companies. It also makes long term structured investments in privately held growth-oriented healthcare companies to fund their corporate goals. Perceptive Advisors is based in New York. More information is available at http://www.perceptivelife.com

About Romulus Capital

Romulus Capital is a seed- and early-stage venture capital firm focused on building, rather than betting on, the next big technology and science-enabled companies. The firm partners with entrepreneurs looking to become industry leaders and works with them to build world-class teams, win major customers, iterate on product, and think strategically about building a strong foundation. The firm was founded out of MIT in 2008 and manages about $150M. More information is available at http://www.romuluscap.com

About Kalaari Capital

Kalaari Capital has $650 million under management with a strong advisory team in Bengaluru, investing in early-stage, technology-oriented companies in India. They are passionate about investing in entrepreneurs who are poised to be tomorrow's global leaders. They seek companies that are capturing new markets, providing innovative solutions and generating lasting results. They are India's leading investor in early-stage businesses, nurturing them through every aspect of growth on the transformative journey towards success. Since 2006, they have worked closely with over 60 companies including market leaders such as Snapdeal, Myntra, Via, Urban Ladder, Simplilearn, Attero and Zivame. More information is available at http://www.kalaari.com

About Sabre Partners

Sabre Partners is an India focused private equity fund with a distinguished track record of having delivered stellar returns for its investors. Founded by professionals from the financial services industry, the team has decades of experience of investing, managing and operating businesses in Asia and India. Sabre has followed a thematic investment approach and has successfully combined it with its rich experience of investing across economic cycles and business environments. It has invested over $325 million in the last decade in India, in sectors such as financial services, infrastructure and healthcare and has distributed over$1.6 billion, which includes one of Asia's most successful financial services private equity exits of all time. More information is available at http://www.sabre-partners.com

About Aarin Capital

Aarin Capital is a stage-agnostic venture fund with the ability to actively support its investee companies from incubation to exit. They seek to create long-term value by partnering with talented, hungry management teams actively complementing their skills with their insights derived from experience in building valuable companies. They aim to build sizeable, profitable companies with sustainable value propositions. Their focus areas are healthcare and life sciences, education and other large opportunities that are technology driven. More information is available at http://www.aarincapital.com

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