Circle Pharma Valuation, Funding & Investors
Circle Pharma is valued at $13M as of December 2016.
Last Circle Pharma valuation
$13M
Series A · Dec 2016
Last Circle Pharma funding round
$90M
Series D · Sep 2024
Cumulative funding Circle Pharma raised
$208M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in Circle Pharma
The Column Group
Nextech Invest
Lifeforce Capital
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Euclidean CapitalShangPharma
Pandect Bioventures
About Circle Pharma
Circle Pharma is a South San Francisco-headquartered biotechnology company engineering oral macrocycle peptide therapeutics targeting intracellular proteins in cancer and inflammation. Its computational platform screens virtual libraries of permeable scaffolds to yield candidates like cell-penetrant BCL2 inhibitors and RAS modulators, advancing multiple programs into preclinical development through partnerships including Merck KGaA.
Founded
2012
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$13M (Dec 2016)
Sectors
Circle Pharma Valuation
Circle Pharma is currently valued at $13M, based on its Series A in December 2016.
The $5M round was led by Mission Bay Capital, with participation from ShangPharma, Lifeforce Capital and Pfizer.
Circle Pharma valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2016 | Series A | $13M |
Circle Pharma Funding History
Circle Pharma has raised a total of $208M across 5 funding rounds.
Circle Pharma's first fundraising round was a $5M Series A in December 2016. The most recent completed round was a $90M Series D in September 2024.
Circle Pharma funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | Series D | The Column Group (lead); Nextech Invest; Pandect Bioventures; Eli Lilly; Euclidean Capital | $90M | - | Circle Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in South San Francisco, California, specializing in the discovery and development of cell-permeable macrocycles, a novel class of therapeutics designed to target challenging intracellular protein interactions undruggable by small molecules or traditional biologics. The company's MXMO platform integrates structure-based drug design and synthetic chemistry to create oral macrocycle therapies, primarily focused on cyclins—key regulators of the cell cycle implicated in cancers like Rb-dysregulated small cell lung cancer and cyclin E-dependent ovarian cancer. Lead programs include CID-078, a first-in-class cyclin A/B RxL inhibitor advancing to clinical stages. In its $90 million Series D financing, announced around September 2024 (with references to closing including a convertible note conversion, and dates like 09/03/2024 or 07/02/2024), The Column Group led the round with participation from existing investors Nextech Invest, Euclidean Capital, and others including Eli Lilly from prior rounds and Pandect Bioventures. This follows earlier raises: $45 million Series B in March 2020 led by The Column Group with Nextech Invest, and $66 million oversubscribed Series C in June 2021 co-led by The Column Group and Nextech Invest, bringing total funding to approximately $207.5 million over multiple rounds. Proceeds from the Series D will fund clinical development of CID-078 through critical stages and expand the pipeline using the MXMO platform for additional precision oncology targets. The company, founded in 2012 by Matthew Jacobson and Scott Lokey, has grown to over 80 employees and continues to build on its macrocycle expertise initially honed for intractable cancer targets. Investor support underscores confidence in Circle's pioneering approach to cell-permeable peptides with enhanced stability and selectivity. Circle Pharma positions itself in the biotech sector addressing undruggable targets, with potential expansion beyond oncology. |
| Jun 2021 | Series C | Nextech Invest (lead); The Column Group (lead); Pandect Bioventures; Eli Lilly & Company Foundation; Euclidean Capital; Pavillion Capital; Hartford HealthCare Endowment | $66M | - | Circle Pharma, Inc. is a macrocycle drug discovery and development company based in South San Francisco, CA, specializing in therapeutics for intractable cancer targets, particularly intracellular protein-protein interactions involving cyclin proteins that regulate cell growth and division. The company focuses initially on precision oncology, with lead programs targeting cyclins for Rb-dysregulated cancers like small cell lung cancer and cyclin E-dependent malignancies such as ovarian cancer, using its proprietary platform to create cell-permeable macrocyclic peptides for previously undruggable targets. On June 16, 2021, Circle Pharma announced an oversubscribed $66 million Series C financing co-led by The Column Group and Nextech Invest, with participation from prior investors including Pandect Bioventures and new investors Euclidean Capital, Pavillion Capital, Hartford HealthCare Endowment, and Eli Lilly and Company. This followed a $45 million Series B in March 2020 led by The Column Group. Proceeds from the Series C were allocated to advance wholly-owned cyclin-targeted programs toward clinical development and to expand the macrocycle platform to additional precision oncology targets. The financing built on prior collaborations, including early work with Pfizer that demonstrated orally bioavailable macrocycles, and supported team growth ahead of clinical milestones. Circle Pharma, a spinout from University of California San Francisco and Santa Cruz, had raised prior rounds from investors like Mission Bay Capital, ShangShangPharma, Elements Partners, LifeForce Capital, and others. Subsequent developments included a $54 million tranche of a Series D round and additional funding, bringing total raised to over $200 million by 2024. |
| Mar 2020 | Series B | The Column Group (lead); ShangPharma; Nextech Invest; Lifeforce Capital; Berkeley Catalyst Fund (BCF) | $45M | - | Circle Pharma, Inc. is a macrocycle drug discovery and development company based in South San Francisco, CA, specializing in intrinsically cell-permeable macrocycles for intractable cancer targets, particularly intracellular protein-protein interactions like cyclins A and E, which regulate cell growth and division and are synthetically lethal in Rb-dysregulated cancers. The company was spun out from UCSF and UC Santa Cruz, with initial seed funding from Pfizer and Mission Bay Capital in 2014, followed by a Series A totaling around $6.5 million in 2016-2017 from investors including ShangPharma, LifeForce Capital, and others. On March 17, 2020, Circle Pharma raised $45 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing led by The Column Group, with participation from Nextech Invest and all prior investors: Berkeley Catalyst Fund, LifeForce Capital, and ShangPharma, bringing total funding to approximately $51.5 million at that point. Proceeds from the Series B were allocated to advance the lead cyclin A and E inhibitor programs toward the clinic, expand the team, and apply the macrocycle platform to additional undruggable targets in oncology. Circle's proprietary platform uses rational design, computational algorithms, and synthetic chemistry to create orally bioavailable macrocycles capable of targeting previously undruggable proteins, positioning it as a pioneer in this therapeutic modality for serious diseases beyond cancer. Subsequent rounds included a $66 million Series C in June 2021 co-led by The Column Group and Nextech Invest, with participation from prior investors and new ones like Euclidean Capital and Eli Lilly, to further progress cyclin programs for small cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer. Later, a Series D began with $54 million closed in part, targeting $117 million total, and completed at $90 million led by The Column Group. |
| Apr 2017 | Series A | Whitesun Healthcare Ventures; Lifeforce Capital; Element Partners; Mission BioCapital; WI Harper Group | $2M | - | - |
| Dec 2016 | Series A | Mission Bay Capital (lead); ShangPharma; Lifeforce Capital; Pfizer | $5M | $13M | Circle Pharma, a South San Francisco-based biotech company spun out from UCSF and UC Santa Cruz, develops macrocycle therapeutics targeting intracellular protein-protein interactions in oncology, using a computational design platform to create cell-permeable peptides for undruggable targets. Founded by Professors Matthew Jacobson and R. Scott Lokey, the company initiated operations in 2014 with seed funding from Pfizer and Mission Bay Capital, followed by additional seed from ShangPharma in mid-2016. On December 21, 2016, Circle Pharma closed a Series A financing round led by Mission Bay Capital, issuing over $4.5 million in Series A Preferred Stock, with participation from Pfizer, ShangPharma Investment Group, and individual investors. The post-money valuation was $12.86 million at a price per share of $0.49. Funds supported advancement of its therapeutic pipeline focused on oncogenic pathways, building a physical library of macrocycles, and collaborations including with Pfizer and ChemPartner. |
Who has invested in Circle Pharma?
17 investors have backed Circle Pharma across its funding rounds, including The Column Group, Nextech Invest, Lifeforce Capital, Euclidean Capital, ShangPharma and Pandect Bioventures.
Lead investors include The Column Group, Nextech Invest and Mission Bay Capital.
Circle Pharma Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zurich | 3 | Lead | Mar 2020 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Lead | Mar 2020 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Participant | Dec 2016 | |
 China | 2 | Participant | Dec 2016 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Participant | Jun 2021 | |
| Euclidean Capital | New York City, NY | 2 | Participant | Jun 2021 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 1 | Participant | Jun 2021 | |
| Whitesun Healthcare Ventures | -- | 1 | Participant | Apr 2017 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 1 | Participant | Sep 2024 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Lead | Dec 2016 | |
| Philadelphia, PA | 1 | Participant | Apr 2017 | |
| United States | 1 | Participant | Apr 2017 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Mar 2020 | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 17 Circle Pharma investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialCircle Pharma Competitors
Circle Pharma competitors include listed companies like Biogened, Poxel, NeuroSense Therapeutics and Scienture Holdings, and private ones like Healionics and KAHR medical.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle, WA | Private | - | - | $13M | - | |
 Jerusalem | Private | - | - | $13M | - | |
 Poland | Publicly listed | $30M | $3M | $13M | - | |
 France | Publicly listed | $8M | ($14M) | $13M | - | |
| Israel | Publicly listed | - | ($11M) | $13M | - | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $432K | ($39M) | $13M | 4.3x |
Circle Pharma Public Comps
Circle Pharma is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Biogened, Poxel, NeuroSense Therapeutics, Scienture Holdings, Enlivex, Aspire Biopharma Hldgs, Intensity Therapeutics, CalciMedica, BioLineRx and Anebulo Pharmaceuticals.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $30M | $3M | 0.6x | - | 5.1x | - | |||
| $8M | ($14M) | 3.6x | - | (2.0x) | - | |||
| - | ($11M) | - | - | (1.2x) | - | |||
| $432K | ($39M) | 35.5x | 4.3x | (0.4x) | - | |||
| - | $1.6B | - | - | 0.0x | - | |||
| $6K | ($16M) | 78.0x | - | (0.0x) | - | |||
| - | ($12M) | - | - | (0.3x) | - | |||
| - | ($29M) | - | - | (0.1x) | (0.2x) | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Circle Pharma competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Circle Pharma
| When was Circle Pharma founded? | Circle Pharma was founded in 2012. |
| Where is Circle Pharma headquartered? | Circle Pharma is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Circle Pharma publicly listed? | No, Circle Pharma is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Circle Pharma's valuation? | Circle Pharma was last valued at $13M in its Series A in December 2016. |
| How much funding has Circle Pharma raised? | Circle Pharma has raised $208M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Circle Pharma's last funding round? | Circle Pharma's last funding round was a $90M Series D in September 2024, led by The Column Group. |
| Who are Circle Pharma's investors? | Circle Pharma's investors include Nextech Invest, The Column Group, Lifeforce Capital, ShangPharma, Pandect Bioventures, Euclidean Capital, Eli Lilly & Company Foundation, Whitesun Healthcare Ventures, Eli Lilly, Mission Bay Capital and 7 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Circle Pharma? | Companies comparable to Circle Pharma include Healionics, KAHR medical, Biogened, Poxel, NeuroSense Therapeutics and Scienture Holdings. |
See companies similar to Circle Pharma
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