NEW YORK, March 12 -- Peptimmune, a subsidiary company spun out of Genzyme in January 2002, today announced a $41 million first round funding led by New Enterprise Associates and MPM Capital.
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Prism Venture Partners, Vanguard Ventures, Hunt Ventures, and Boston Medical Investors also participated in the funding, the immunotherapeutics firm based in Cambridge, Mass., said in a statement.
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Robert Carpeter, Peptimmune's president and chairman, will add CEO to his title.
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The funding reduces Genzyme's ownership interest in Peptimmune to approximately 10 percent. However, Genzyme will retain a right of first offer to participate in the commercialization of Peptimmune's lead product, an injectible immunotherapeutic for the autoimmune disease phemphigus vulgaris, a rare skin disease. The product is in Phase I human clinical trials.