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RTW Biotech Opportunities Ltd on Friday said it has made two separate investments as part of series A and C funding rounds in two clinical-stage firms. RTW Biotech, an investment fund managed by RTW Investments LP that specialises in the life sciences sector, said it added Basel, Switzerland-based Windward Bio to its portfolio through participating in its series A funding round of $200 million. Windward is a clinical-stage drug development company aiming to improve outcomes for patients suffering from advanced immunological diseases, with an initial focus on severe respiratory conditions. RTW noted that the funds raised through the round will be used to support the advancement of two undisclosed programs through investigational new drug-enabling studies. Windward is currently preparing for a phase 2 trial investigating its asset WIN378, a long-acting monoclonal antibody, in severe asthma, with initial clinical readouts expected in 2026. RTW Investments Managing Partner Roderick Wong said: ‘We are thrilled to support the seasoned team at Windward Bio in the development of their pipeline and particularly WIN378, a next-generation TSLP therapy, which has the potential to improve convenience and treatment outcomes for patients with severe respiratory diseases’. Separately on Friday, RTW Biotech noted its additional investment in Seattle, US-based Umoja Biopharma, participating in its oversubscribed series C funding round worth $100 million. Umoja is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing in vivo cell therapies that improve the effectiveness of CAR T cell therapies in oncology and automimmune treatments. RTW Biotech first invested in Umoja as part of its $210 million series B round in June 2021 and noted that the proceeds of its most recent raise will be used to advance its in vivo CAR T cell therapy pipeline. Wong added: ‘We are delighted to continue supporting Umoja in advancing their groundbreaking work on in vivo CAR T cell therapies.’ Shares in RTW were down 1.2% at $1.39 on Friday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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