Therapeutics company Bugworks Research on Wednesday said it has scooped up Series B1 funding of $18 million (around Rs 135 crore) led by Lightrock India.
The round also saw participation from existing investors including The University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) Japan, Global Brain Corporation in Japan, 3ONE4Capital India, Acquipharma Holdings S.A, I.M Holdings B.V. and Featherlite Group India.
This platform said that the fundraise will support the clinical development of BWC0977, a novel broad-spectrum anti-bacterial agent available in both IV and oral forms, and the pre-clinical development of its best-in-class adenosine immuno-oncology asset.
The funding will also advance highly differentiated assets in the dual areas of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and immuno-oncology (IO).
Bugworks said it will continue to invest in its proprietary drug discovery platforms GYROX and DARE, and identify new drugs for serious, underserved indications.
Post funding, LightRock India’s Tejasvi Ravi will join the directors’ board in Bugworks Research.
“We are very excited about our lead clinical asset BWC0977 that is potentially the first novel truly broad-spectrum anti-bacterial drug in nearly five decades,” said Anand Anandkumar, Chief Executive Officer of Bugworks Research.
Bugworks was set up in 2014, the company says its research allows for the development of anti-AMR tools, with its portfolio providing leads against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.
Tejasvi Ravi, who leads healthcare investments at Lightrock, said “It is a privilege to partner with Bugworks in solving the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is fast becoming one of the most important global public health crises, with the best of Indian talent and technology.
Their in-house platform coupled with a truly global execution network puts Bugworks in a unique position to deliver pathbreaking solutions to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and cancer.”