A Cambridge Biotech Just Raised $220M. In This Market, That's a Statement.
CellCentric just closed a $220 million Series D, the largest private biotech financing in Europe this year, to push its first-in-class oral cancer drug toward approval. In a market where investors have been stingy with late-stage oncology bets, this oversubscribed round tells a bigger story about what it takes to get funded in 2026.
The Biggest Check European Biotech Has Cashed All Year
Investors have been treating late-stage oncology like a first date they're not sure about. Interested, but cautious. Willing to show up, but not ready to commit.
Then CellCentric walked in and walked out with $220 million.
The Cambridge, UK-based biotech closed an oversubscribed Series D round on May 6, making it the largest private biotech financing in Europe so far in 2026. The money will fund pivotal trials of its lead drug, inobrodib, in multiple myeloma (a blood cancer that forms in white blood cells). And the investor list reads like a who's-who of healthcare capital: Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners led the round, with Fidelity, RA Capital, Forbion, Pfizer, and others piling in.
In a market where investors have been notoriously picky about writing big checks, this one demands attention.
What CellCentric Actually Does
Let's talk about the science, because it's genuinely interesting.
Inobrodib is what's called a first-in-class oral p300/CBP inhibitor. Translation: it's targeting a pair of proteins (p300 and CBP) that act like volume knobs for cancer genes. These proteins sit on specific spots in your DNA and crank up production of molecules like MYC and IRF4, which help tumors grow and survive.
Inobrodib works by physically displacing those proteins from their perches. Think of it like bumping the DJ off the turntable at a party you want to shut down. The music (tumor growth signals) stops, and the cancer cells lose their survival playlist.
No other drug in clinical trials targets p300/CBP this way. That "first-in-class" label is a big deal; it means CellCentric isn't racing against five other companies with similar molecules. They're building the road.
The drug is also oral, which matters enormously. Multiple myeloma patients currently rely on complex treatment regimens that often involve IV infusions, injections, or hospital visits. An all-oral option that patients can take at home? That's a genuine quality-of-life upgrade, and it gives doctors more flexibility to combine treatments.
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Why Investors Opened Their Wallets This Wide
CellCentric has already tested inobrodib in over 450 patients across several cancer types. The most advanced data is in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, where the drug showed promising response rates and manageable side effects in patients who had already failed other treatments, including newer therapies like bispecific antibodies and BCMA-targeted drugs.
That last part is crucial. Myeloma patients who've cycled through the newest therapies have very few options left. Inobrodib appears to work even after those treatments stop working, which carves out a clear niche of unmet need.
The $220 million will fund two registration-enabling trials (the kind regulators want to see before approving a drug). DOMMINO-1, a Phase 2 study, is already enrolling patients in the UK and US. DOMMINO-2, a global Phase 3 trial, is set to launch in the second half of 2026.
CEO Will West has said the financing allows CellCentric to "carry out a full registration program" without needing additional capital. That's not a throwaway line. It means the company can run its pivotal trials to completion without going back to investors hat-in-hand, which gives it negotiating leverage whether it pursues an IPO or a buyout.
The Syndicate Tells a Story
Look at the investor list again. This isn't just a collection of names; it's a signal.
Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners leading the round brings deep hematology (blood cancer) expertise. Fidelity is a crossover investor, the kind that writes private checks with one eye on the public markets. Pfizer is a strategic investor, meaning a major pharma company looked at this asset and decided to put real money behind it.
West reportedly turned down term sheets from smaller funds, choosing instead to build a concentrated syndicate of specialists and crossover investors. That's a power move. It signals confidence, and it positions the company for an IPO if it wants one.
The valuation, while not officially disclosed, is reportedly approaching the billion-dollar mark. West has described it as "getting closer to a billion," roughly where you'd want to be before considering a public listing. Combined with the $120 million Series C from May 2025, CellCentric has raised about $340 million in the past 12 months and says it's funded through 2029.
What This Means for European Biotech
For years, the knock on European biotech has been that it can't attract the same caliber of capital as its American counterparts. The numbers back that up: in Q1 2025, European biotech venture capital reached £2.05 billion, still well behind US levels. California alone nearly matched the entire continent.
But CellCentric's round suggests the gap is narrowing, at least for the right kind of company. European biotech venture funding more than tripled from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, and 2026 is maintaining that momentum for late-stage, data-backed assets.
The pattern is clear, though: investors aren't spreading money across the board. They're concentrating it in fewer, bigger bets. In Q1 2025, just two deals (Isomorphic Labs at £449 million and Verdiva Bio at £327 million) accounted for most of the UK's biotech venture funding. CellCentric's round fits that same mold: a large, targeted bet on a company with clinical proof and a clear path forward.
The Competitive Landscape Is Crowded, But the Lane Is Open
Multiple myeloma is one of the most competitive spaces in oncology. CAR-T therapies, bispecific antibodies, and other novel approaches have transformed treatment in recent years. So why are investors bullish on yet another myeloma drug?
Because inobrodib isn't trying to replace those therapies. It's designed to work after them, or alongside them. CellCentric is already running early trials combining inobrodib with bispecific antibodies teclistamab and elranatamab, and exploring its use in maintenance settings (long-term treatment to keep cancer from coming back).
The oral, small-molecule format also gives it a structural advantage. Bispecifics and CAR-T require hospital infrastructure, monitoring, and specialized administration. An effective pill that patients take at home is a fundamentally different value proposition.
The Bottom Line
CellCentric's $220 million raise isn't just a financing story. It's a confidence vote: in a first-in-class mechanism, in European biotech's ability to compete for global capital, and in the idea that late-stage oncology can still attract massive investment even when the broader market is cautious.
The company now has the runway to prove its drug works in pivotal trials, the investor base to support a public listing, and the optionality to choose between an IPO and a strategic exit. Whether it delivers on that promise depends on clinical data that's still years away.
But for now, CellCentric has something most biotechs would kill for: time, money, and the freedom to pick its own path.
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