Series B round grosses $38mm for Civitas Therapeutics

In its Series B round, Civitas Therapeutics Inc. (developing the ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery system for neurological, respiratory, and infectious diseases) raised $38 million from lead backer Bay City Capital, RA Capital, an undisclosed blue chip public investment firm, and all returning shareholders including Alkermes PLC (from which Civitas spun off in late 2010), Canaan Partners, Fountain Healthcare Partners, and Longitude Capital. Partners from Bay City and RA Capital joined the company’s board. The start-up will use the money to complete Phase IIb and start Phase III trials on its lead compound CVT301, a levodopa aerosol that acts as an adjunct therapy to oral levodopa for motor fluctuations (off episodes) in Parkinson’s disease.