DURHAM, NC – Chimerix, a company developing orally available broad spectrum antiviral therapeutics, has close a $45 million sixth round of financing.  New Leaf Venture Partners, Pappas Ventures and Morningside Group, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Sanderling Ventures, Alta Partners, Asset Management Company and Frazier Healthcare Ventures all participated in the funding.

The need for effective broad spectrum antiviral treatments is pressing.

The company’s lead candidate, CMX001, is in Phase 2 clinical trials for potentially fatal CMV infection in transplant and immunocompromised patients, and is being developed as a potential broad spectrum antiviral agent for the treatment of life-threatening double-stranded DNA viral diseases.

Chimerix recently commenced an open-label clinical study to provide CMX001 to critically-ill patients with life-threatening disease caused by any of 12 different dsDNA viral infections, (such as adenovirus, herpes viruses (cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus and Epstein Barr virus), polyoma viruses (BK virus and JC virus), and poxviruses).

Chimerix’s second clinical-stage antiviral compound, CMX157, a potent nucleoside analogue with activity against HIV and hepatitis B, has the potential to directly address several limitations of current HIV therapies.  Chimerix is developing CMX157 for the treatment of HIV infection including those caused by multi-drug resistant viruses.

Both CMX001 and CMX157 combine Chimerix’s proprietary PIM conjugate technology with high-value antiviral compounds, transforming the way compounds are absorbed, distributed, metabolized and excreted to create new chemical entities with potent antiviral action and reduced toxicities.