Money Moves: Baltimore’s Vita Therapeutics raised a $31M Series B

Money Moves is a column where we chart the funding raises of tech companies across the region. Have a tip? Email us at baltimore@technical.ly.

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Biotech company Vita Therapeutics has closed a $31 million Series B round, it announced this week.

The round was led by the biotech company Cambrian BioPharma and a new investor, a venture philanthropic organization called Solve FSHD. Other new investors included Riptide Ventures and Cedars Sinai. Since its start, Vita Therapeutics has raised $66 million total, including a $32 million Series A raised in June 2021.

Cofounded by CEO Douglas Falk and Chief Scientific Officer Peter Andersen in 2018, Vita Therapeutics is a cell engineering company that focuses on developing treatments for neuromuscular diseases and cancers. The new funding will be partly dedicated to development of the company’s treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), called VTA-120, which aims to stimulate muscle regeneration for patients.

“This syndicate’s confidence in our ability to further progress our programs is energizing and we are thrilled to have them as partners,” Vita CEO Douglas Falk said in a statement. “We are making notable progress with our investigational IND-enabling studies for VTA-100 and are on track to reach the clinic with this important therapeutic candidate within 18 months. Additionally, we are excited to further expand our pipeline to include VTA-120 for the treatment of patients with FSHD. I’m incredibly proud of our entire team and the steady momentum we continue to have.”

According to Eva Chin, executive director for Solve FSHD, there are no treatments available for FSHD, hence the need to develop them.

Vita earned a place on the State of Maryland’s list of companies to watch in 2020.

Digital Harbor Foundation will move $3 million for STEM students in Ukraine

Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of investment firm Citadel, announced today a $3 million donation to start a scholarship fund to support Ukrainian students in continuing STEM education. The Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund will be administered by the Baltimore-based Digital Harbor Foundation.

The tech education organization will help Ukrainian students who have been impacted by the war with tuition and other support to continue their education in STEM topics.

“Ukrainian students — including some of the brightest of their generation — have faced unimaginable hardship and have had their education and futures disrupted,” Griffin, who is based in Florida, said in a statement. “The Ukraine Math and Science Achievement Fund aims to ensure that these brilliant students have the opportunity to realize their academic ambitions and leave their mark on the world.”

This fund is an extension of efforts led by Dr. Ferenc Huszár, an associate professor of computer science at Cambridge, and Dr. Iryna Korshunova, a machine learning researcher. Both, along with volunteers, have been helping members of the mathematical olympiad community with resources since the war in Ukraine started.

This fund is already helping four students, who accepted offers to study at the University of Cambridge this fall, and three more who will be attending  Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.

Cpower acquires part of Centrica Business Solutions

Baltimore’s Cpower Energy Management announced it acquired the US demand response division of Centrica Business Solutions last week.

“CPower has always been committed to a customer-first culture,” President and CEO John Horton said in a statement. “With the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on their clean energy investment to ensure they are part of the solution toward a flexible, clean and dependable energy future.”

Centrica demand response customers will join Cpower and have access to its industry knowledge and technology, the companies said.

“We look forward to welcoming our new customers and strategizing around their resiliency and sustainability goals, while helping them drive even more value from their existing energy management strategy and assets,” Horton said.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.