Dren Bio raised $350 million in an oversubscribed financing round co-led by Juvia Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners on October 29, 2026. The California biotech will use the funds to advance its lead CD94-targeting monoclonal antibody, dibotatug, toward a potential market launch by late 2027 for rare blood cancers including cytotoxic T cell lymphoma and large granular lymphocytic leukemia.
Details of the $350 million financing
- ▪Dren Bio raised an oversubscribed $350 million financing round co-led by venture capital firm Juvia Group and Lightspeed Venture Partners, announced on October 29, 2026
- ▪Dren Bio plans to use its $350 million financing to bankroll late-stage development, regulatory, and commercial activities for its lead antibody therapy dibotatug, also known as DR-01
- ▪Investors participating in Dren Bio's $350 million financing round announced October 29, 2026 include Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, General Catalyst, Cormorant Asset Management, and OrbiMed
- ▪Dren Bio allocated a portion of its $350 million round to advance its broader pipeline originating from its targeted myeloid engager and phagocytosis platform, which produced DR-0201
Clinical development of dibotatug
- ▪Dren Bio plans to expand development of its CD94-targeting monoclonal antibody dibotatug into additional indications including aplastic anemia, bone marrow failure syndromes, and autoimmune diseases
- ▪Dren Bio's lead antibody dibotatug is designed to deplete pathogenic cells in cytotoxic T cell lymphoma and large granular lymphocytic leukemia, two rare blood cancers with high unmet medical need
- ▪Dren Bio's CD94-targeting monoclonal antibody dibotatug is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 trial for cytotoxic T cell lymphoma and large granular lymphocytic leukemia, with a primary readout scheduled for December 2026
Prior financing and Sanofi agreement
- ▪Dren Bio's prior financing rounds included a $60 million Series A round in October 2020 and a $65 million Series B round in 2022
- ▪In 2025, Sanofi paid Dren Bio $600 million upfront to acquire the bispecific myeloid cell engager DR-0201, now designated SAR448501, with Dren Bio eligible for up to $1.3 billion in potential development and milestone payments
Sanofi partnership and SAR448501 platform
- ▪Sanofi is running two Phase I clinical trials of SAR448501 in undisclosed inflammatory indications
- ▪Dren Bio's multispecific antibody technology was used to generate DR-0201, a targeted bispecific myeloid cell engager designed to induce deep B cell depletion
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