Cambridge, USA, 18th October 2016 – In September Aura Bioscience Inc. (Aura) closed out a funding round worth 8 million dollars led by the international venture capital fund Advent Partners. Columbus Venture Partners participated in this investment through the Columbus INNVIERTE Life Science fund, registered in the Spanish Securities & Exchange Commission (CNMV) under no.190.

This new round of funding will allow Aura to move its leading product AU-011 to the clinical stage. This product is for treating ocular melanoma, and constitutes the first therapy to be developed for the targeted treatment of this rare and potentially fatal illness. Also, it is worth highlighting that AU-011 has obtained orphan designation status from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it is expected to begin clinical testing at the start of next year.

Aura Biosciences has positioned itself as an international benchmark in the development of new and revolutionary cancer treatments. Its innovative character lies in the development of a new type of medicines that destroy cancerous cells in a highly selective manner, without affecting the surrounding tissue. Its leading product, AU-011 consists of a viral particle combined with a small molecule, which is activated through the use of a laser. The viral particle selectively joins onto the cancerous cells of the eye and, following activation with an ophthalmic laser, the small molecule selectively destroys the membrane of these cells, killing them without damaging the retina.

Likewise, the Aura team is made up of professionals with renowned international prestige and extensive experience in different sectors such as the cellular biology of cancer, ophthalmology and targeted therapies along with lots of experience developing and marketing orphan products for medical needs that have not been covered. Furthermore, Aura recently announced the incorporation of Henri Termeer, former director general of Genzyme and the main Aura investor, into its Board of Directors.

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About Aura Bioscience Inc.

Aura Biosciences is an American company based in Boston that specialised in the development of a new type of therapies that make it possible to attack and selectively destroy tumour cells. Its leading development program for ocular melanoma has been developed via a collaboration agreement with the National Cancer Institute (NCI). For further information visit: www.aurabiosciences.com

About Columbus Venture Partners S.G.E.I.C., S.A

Columbus Venture Partners is a Spanish venture capital fund registered in the Spanish Securities & Exchange Commission (CNMV) under no.107. It provides a unique approach for investing in opportunities that are at an early stage of development and that have a lot of growth potential in the life sciences sector in Spain.