Vtesse launches with $25mm Series A round; later adds on $17mm

Concurrent with its spin-out from orphan drug incubator Cydan Development Inc., rare disease start-up Vtesse Inc. (lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs)) raised $25mm in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates. Pfizer Venture Investments, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Bay City Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated. The company intends to use proceeds to bring its VTS270 Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NPC; a fatal genetic LSD that mostly affects children) candidate through pivotal clinical trials and potentially evaluate other compounds for NPC and other LSDs.