Forbion co-leads $175 million Series B financing of Mariana Oncology as first investment of Forbion Ventures Fund VI

• Forbion co-leads oversubscribed Series B financing in next-generation radiopharmaceuticals company
• First investment by its Forbion Ventures Fund VI, aimed at advancing highly impactful development-stage therapeutics companies
• Investment in Mariana Oncology leverages Forbion’s track record and deep domain expertise in oncology

Naarden, The Netherlands and Munich, Germany – 7 September, 2023 – Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, today announces that it has co-led, together with Deep Track Capital, an oversubscribed $175 million Series B financing in Mariana Oncology, the first investment by its Forbion Ventures Fund VI. Founding investors Atlas Venture, Access Biotechnology and RA Capital Management are joined by additional new investors Nextech Invest, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Eli Lilly and Company.

Mariana Oncology, a fully integrated, next-generation radiopharmaceuticals company, will use the proceeds to support the development of the company’s portfolio of precision next generation radiopharmaceuticals, including its lead candidate MC-339, which targets small cell lung cancer. In conjunction with the fundraise, Forbion Managing Partner Geert-Jan Mulder, MD, will join the Board of Directors, alongside Rebecca Luse from Deep Track Capital, that co-led the funding round.

Earlier this year, Forbion announced the final close of its Forbion Ventures Fund VI, which reached the hard cap amount of €750 million and, alongside the close of the Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II at €600 million, represented Forbion’s largest fundraising to date. The fund aims to build a portfolio of highly impactful therapeutics companies and builds on the firm’s strong track record from previous Forbion Ventures funds.

Geert-Jan Mulder, MD, Managing Partner said, “Mariana Oncology has a promising pipeline and its lead asset, MC-339, is particularly exciting when we look at the potential positive impact on patients. MC-339 holds the promise to transform small cell lung cancer with the targeted delivery of an actinium payload, leveraging the advantages of peptides for enhanced tumoral uptake. We look forward to the Company’s evolution into a clinical-stage company and the potential to efficiently deliver an effective new standard of care to patients in the future.”

"The support of such a strong syndicate of new and existing investors is a testament to Mariana Oncology’s potential,” said Simon Read, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mariana Oncology. “In just 18 months since our Series A, we have leveraged our deep expertise in peptide discovery and radiochemistry to advance a diversified portfolio of novel molecules. The proceeds from this financing support the advancement of our pipeline and the initial development of our lead candidate, MC-339, which we anticipate will enter the clinic in 2024 in small cell lung cancer, supported by our own GMP radiopharmaceutical manufacturing.”