Nohla raising $20M, enters Fred Hutch deals

Newco Nohla Therapeutics Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) said it expects to close a $20 million round this month from undisclosed investors. CEO Benjamin Bergo said Nohla is developing off-the-shelf, allogeneic ex vivo cord blood transplant products that do not require human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching and are designed to offer a faster time to engraftment than conventional cord blood transplants.

Nohla also entered a 20-year, exclusive, worldwide deal to license a patent portfolio from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, Wash.) that covers methods to expand and differentiate cord blood stem cells, as well as two INDs. Bergo declined to disclose financial details. ...