BrainChild Bio Closes $116 Million Series A

Gunderson Dettmer represented BrainChild Bio in its $116 million Series A financing. An undisclosed private family fund and foundation, aligned with BrainChild Bio’s mission, led the financing round, with participation from the company’s initial investor, Seattle Children’s, and new investor WRF Capital.

Brainchild Bio, a kids-first, clinical-stage biotechnology company, is harnessing the power of CAR T cell technology to treat tumors in the central nervous system. The company will use the new capital to support its ILLUMINATE Phase 2 study, a pivotal clinical trial to evaluate BCB-276, the company’s investigational B7-H3-targeted autologous CAR T cell therapy, for the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare and aggressive pediatric brainstem tumor with limited treatment options. The funding will also support the continued development of BCB-214, the company’s triple-targeting CAR T cell therapy being advanced to initial clinical testing in glioblastoma. 

“This financing enables us to chart our path forward to serve the children and families afflicted with devastating brain tumors and represents a new paradigm for treating CNS brain tumors in children and adults,” said Michael Jensen, MD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of BrainChild Bio, in the announcement of the transaction. “Our team at BrainChild Bio is steadfast in its commitment to harness CAR T cell technology in CNS tumors and we are uniquely positioned to do so.”

The Gunderson deal team was led by Tim Ehrlich and Tim Kulis and included Ryan Moser and Julie Bateman.