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Micrograph of ulcerative colitis -- biotech coverage from STAT — Micrograph of chronic active ulcerative colitis in a biopsy specimen. Wikimedia Commons

Checkpoint inhibitors, drugs that unleash the immune system, have turned into blockbuster therapies that have transformed outcomes for some patients with deadly cancers. AltruBio, a Bay Area biotech, is betting it can help patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by taking the opposite tack: pumping the brakes on runaway immune responses.

The company on Tuesday announced that it has raised $225 million in a Series B venture round led by BVP Partners, with the biotech’s backers also including RA Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, and Soleus Capital. AltruBio plans to put that money toward advancing a drug that is already being tested in a mid-stage trial for ulcerative colitis, an increasingly competitive market in which a number of pharma companies have launched drugs.

It’s the latest example of intense investor interest in immunology-focused companies. Firms such as Paragon Therapeutics and Prometheus Laboratories have recently been at the center of financing mega-rounds, and Blackstone Life Sciences recently committed up to $300 million to launch Uniquity Bio, a company developing treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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