3-V Biosciences, Inc. announced today both the closing of a Preferred Stock financing and the designation of a novel program targeting a host-factor for the treatment of Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

"The continued support of the company's investors for the host-factor vision reflects both the success of the team thus far and the potential for this program to play an import role improving the lives of patients with HCV," said Merdad V. Parsey, MD, PhD, 3-V's Chief Executive Officer. "The company's unique program stands out in its ability to combine with direct-acting antivirals as a potential backbone of HCV therapy."3-V closed a Preferred Stock financing providing the company with a minimum of $20 million.

Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates participated equally in the financing. 3-V plans to use the proceeds to advance the HCV program, earlier-stage pipeline opportunities and the company's screening platform. Both the target and proprietary molecules in the novel HCV program are the products of 3-V's internal screening platform and drug discovery team. The company is developing the program to be the foundation of a next-generation, all-oral, well-tolerated HCV regimen.

About 3-V Biosciences
3-V Biosciences, Inc. is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and ultimately commercializing novel antiviral therapeutics that target host cell factors required for viral infection, thereby avoiding many of the shortcomings of traditional pathogen-directed approaches. The company is located in Menlo Park, California.