By Lauren King, VeloCityOKC.com
This story originally ran on VeloCityOKC.com.
Wheeler Bio announced its successful completion of an oversubscribed Series A-1 financing round, meaning the Oklahoma City-based company attracted more investor interest and funding offers than initially sought, a strong indicator of confidence in the company’s growth and potential. The $35 million round was led by Alloy Therapeutics and Echo Investment Capital (Echo), with additional participation from Mitsubishi Corp. (Americas), Germin8 Ventures and Russell Westbrook Enterprises.
“Wheeler Bio continues to redefine the art of possibility for drug development in the United States,” said Christian Kanady, co-founder of Wheeler Bio and founding partner and CEO of Echo. “This impressive lineup of investors symbolizes both deepened and new partnerships that will be significant as Wheeler accelerates growth and ultimately scales its footprint in Oklahoma City and beyond.”
Wheeler Bio is a biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), meaning it partners with other drug developers to help design and produce medicines. A science-driven, client-focused CDMO, Wheeler Bio is built on its Modular Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) platform—a flexible system designed to streamline drug development and manufacturing.
“This investment will fuel Wheeler’s ongoing efforts to expand its partner base, team and capabilities in order to accelerate the advancement of our partners’ therapies,” said Patrick Lucy, president and CEO of Wheeler Bio. “Wheeler’s scientific team and Modular CMC platform coupled with our customer-intimate approach is well positioned to enable our partners through clinical and commercial manufacturing.”
Wheeler Bio specializes in the development and cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) manufacturing of antibody-based therapies, adhering to strict quality standards. Using its Modular CMC platform, the company accelerates the transition of new antibody treatments from discovery to human clinical trials, while ensuring regulatory approval and ongoing production.
“This investment accelerates Wheeler Bio’s growth and expands its ability to deliver high-quality CMC services for antibody-based therapies,” said Errik Anderson, founder and CEO of Alloy Therapeutics. “Alloy has supported Wheeler since its inception, and as the company has honed its overall strategy and advanced its cGMP capabilities under Patrick Lucy’s proven leadership, we are deepening our commitment. Wheeler has a clear path to expanded capabilities and large-scale production, we’re excited to continue supporting its growth and impact on drug development.”
This latest funding round will not only enhance support for existing clients but also fuel the company’s future growth, including plans to construct a 52,000-square-foot large-scale biologics manufacturing facility next to a biomanufacturing workforce training center (BioTC) at Convergence in the Innovation District.
“Wheeler Bio is perfectly positioned to meet the growing demand for platforms that accelerate the transition from bench to bedside,” said Takahiro Tokuda, healthcare division COO of the Mitsubishi Corp. “We are excited for this collaboration, so Wheeler Bio can perform a crucial role in creating an infrastructure to support biotechnology companies that have innovative ideas significantly improving patient quality of life.”