SwanBio’s $56M series B reflects hard choices in venture rounds

Syncona-backed gene therapy company SwanBio tapped its insider investors for a $56 million series B round that provides the biotech with runway for its first clinical study of a lead program to treat the rare disease adrenomyeloneuropathy.

The deal reflects the trade-offs faced by biotechs and their investors as the downturn grinds on. SwanBio CEO Tom Anderson acknowledged to BioCentury that the biotech preferred not to syndicate its series B round with a new lead investor at the risk of accepting a diminished valuation from an outsider in a challenging market...