CE-Ventures co-leads $10 million financing round for CrossBridge Bio

CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of UAE-based Crescent Enterprises, has announced its participation in a $10 million financing round for CrossBridge Bio, a Houston-based biotech firm pioneering dual-payload antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for targeted cancer therapies. The round, co-led with TMC Venture Fund, will support CrossBridge Bio’s efforts to advance its lead candidate, CBB-120, as a potential treatment for solid tumors and further expand its dual-payload ADC pipeline. Additionally, the funds will bolster the development of its proprietary linker technology, a crucial component for enhancing the safety and effectiveness of its therapeutic platform.

“Crescent Enterprises is dedicated to further expanding our life science portfolio with cutting-edge biotech companies,” said Tushar Singhvi, Deputy CEO and head of investments at Crescent Enterprises. “CrossBridge Bio exemplifies the innovation in therapeutic drug development that we are committed to supporting more in the future.”

Damir Illich, PhD, manager life sciences at CE-Ventures and newly appointed board director of CrossBridge Bio, added: “CrossBridge Bio is a new leader in the dual-payload ADC drug discovery and development arena. We are proud to support their efforts to advance the lead candidate CBB-120 through preclinical studies and to expand the pipeline of dual-payload ADC programmes.”

“We are proud to have the support of such experienced investors who share our vision of transforming cancer therapy,” said Michael Torres, PhD, CEO of CrossBridge Bio. “Our dual-payload ADC technology is designed to maximize therapeutic effectiveness by delivering targeted therapies directly into cancer cells, minimizing potential off-target effects. With this support, we plan to advance CBB-120 into preclinical non-GLP toxicology studies to enable its future clinical development.”

CE-Ventures, which has deployed over $500 million globally across more than 50 investments, focuses on high-growth companies in technology and life sciences, with a focus on novel therapeutics and microbiome-based therapies. Other participants in CrossBridge Bio’s financing round include TMC Venture Fund, Portal Innovations, Alexandria Ventures, and several pre-seed investors.