Selecta begins Series D round with $22mm from Rusnano and other investors

Selecta Biosciences Inc. (immunomodulatory vaccines) has started its Series D round with a $12mm investment from major Russian nanotechnology investor Rusnano, and $10mm from returning backers Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, NanoDimension, Leukon Investments, and new buyers. A second close of $25.25mm ($13mm from Rusnano and $12.25 from the others) is expected. Selecta, a Boston-based company, will use the proceeds to advance candidates in its pipeline, expand applications of its Synthetic Vaccine Particle platform, and establish a Russian subsidiary--Selecta (RUS) LLC--to help expand its presence overseas. The financing was announced at the same time as an identical fundraising by Bind Biosciences. The companies are independent of each other, but share investors and some nanotechnology background from their common founders, MIT's Robert Langer and Harvard Medical School's Omid Farokhzad, MD.