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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, Nov. 5, 2020 -- Pappas Capital, a leading venture capital firm focused on advancing life sciences, today announced that its portfolio company, VelosBio Inc. ("VelosBio" or the "Company"), has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a subsidiary of Merck (NYSE: MRK) for $2.75 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The exit is amongst Pappas Capital's most successful in its 25-plus-year history.

SAN DIEGO -- VelosBio Inc. (“VelosBio”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel, first-in-class cancer therapies targeting receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1), today announced the completion of an oversubscribed Series B financing of $137 million led by Matrix Capital Management and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company). The Company has raised a total of $202 million in gross proceeds from private financings since its founding in 2017.

New investors participating in the Series B financing round include Adage Capital Management LP, Cormorant Asset Management, Farallon, Foresite Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, OrbiMed, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Viking Global Investors, and Wellington Management Company, which are joining existing investors Arix Bioscience, Decheng Capital, Pappas Capital, Sofinnova Ventures, and Takeda Ventures.

VelosBio, a biotech startup researching new cancer drugs, has raised $58 million in financing. The new VelosBio cash, a Series A round of financing, was led by Arix Bioscience (LSE: ARIX) and Sofinnova Ventures. VelosBio joined Johnson & Johnson’s JLABS @ San Diego incubator in January. The company is developing antibody drug conjugates, a class of cancer drugs that link antibodies to potent cancer-fighting toxins. These drugs are meant to provide a targeted strike to tumors, sparing healthy tissue. The new VelosBio cash is earmarked for completing the work needed to proceed into human studies.