San Francisco, US, 18 December 2024 - Novo Holdings, a leading life science investor, today announced it has led a $100M Series C Financing of SiteOne Therapeutics (“SiteOne”), a biopharmaceutical company developing selective ion channel modulators for the treatment of acute pain and other conditions. The funds will support the advancement of SiteOne's portfolio through human clinical proof of concept.

The financing was led by Novo Holdings, with participation from OrbiMed, Wellington Management, Mission BioCapital, BSQUARED Capital, and existing investors.

Ken Harrison, Senior Partner, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings US, who will join the SiteOne Therapeutics Board of Directors, said: “SiteOne Therapeutics’ portfolio of selective ion channel modulators holds immense promise for the non-opioid treatment of pain. This investment reflects our confidence in the Company’s underlying science and our regard for its mission of transforming pain management for the millions of patients living with chronic pain in the US and around the globe.”

“This funding will enable human proof of concept studies on our isoform-selective sodium channel inhibitors and development of other ion channel modulators,” commented John Mulcahy, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of SiteOne Therapeutics.

The pain market is experiencing significant growth, driven by a considerable and urgent medical need. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 50 million American adults struggle with chronic pain. The opioid epidemic has complicated pain management, highlighting the need for more effective and safer treatment options.

This financing aligns with Novo Holdings’ broader strategy to invest in innovative pain management solutions. Recent investments include a $65 million Series E round in Nalu Medical, a California-based medical technology company, and participation in a $23 million Series A round of Hoba Therapeutics, a Danish biotech company founded by Novo Holdings with a focus on advancing therapeutic proteins for chronic neuropathic pain and hearing loss.

About SiteOne Therapeutics

SiteOne Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company advancing a novel class of highly selective small molecule inhibitors targeting Na_V1.7, Na_V1.8, and other voltage-gated ion channels to treat sensory hyperexcitability disorders such as chronic cough, itch, and pain. Since its inception, SiteOne has been dedicated to the development of safe and effective pain therapeutics without the significant addiction potential and side effects of opioids. The company is also advancing additional novel drug candidates that exhibit precise selectivity for individual ion channel subtypes to treat other sensory hyperexcitability disorders such as chronic cough and chronic ocular surface pain. For more information, visit www.siteonetherapeutics.com.

About Novo Holdings

Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S (Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seed, Venture, Growth, Asia, Planetary Health and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development.

As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets of EUR 149 billion.