New Haven biotech firm attracts extra $5M

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals Inc., a New Haven biotechnology startup, has raised another $5 million to pay for ongoing development of its tumor-fighting therapy.

Kolltan said today this latest round is on top of $35 million in equity funding obtained in January from its private placement of preferred stock.

The latest funding round was backed by Purdue Pharma LP, HBM BioCapital LP, and individual investors, including the Pritzker/Vlock family of Branford, the company said.

Kolltan is devising therapeutic antibodies that target the chemical receptors in cancer cells that are the keys to tumor formation.

The company was co-founded in 2007 by CEO Joseph Schlessinger, who is chief scientist and chairman of the pharmacology department at Yale University, and Chairman Arthur G. Altschul Jr., managing member of Diaz & Altschul Capital Management.

Kolltan also announced the addition of four outside directors, all with extensive biotech backgrounds, to its board.