Raleigh-based biotechnology company Innovate Biopharmaceuticals has secured $9.7 million in post IPO equity funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the city’s recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced April 2 and financed by SDS Capital Partners.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Innovate, a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company, is focused on developing novel gastroenterology medicines. Its pipeline includes drug candidates for Celiac disease and for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis, along with Secretin, which improves pancreatic duct visualization in MRCP procedures. The company is led by a strong management team with extensive business and regulatory experience."

The seven-year-old company has raised two previous funding rounds, including a $21 million round in 2018.

The round brings total funding raised by Raleigh companies in biotechnology over the past month to $17 million. The local biotechnology industry has produced eight funding rounds over the past year, raking in a total of $144 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, financial services and venture capital company First Flight Venture Center announced a $125,000 grant on March 6, financed by the Federal And State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program.

According to Crunchbase, "First Flight Venture Center is an incubator and venture capital firm specializing in early and start-up companies. The firm primarily invests in technology and biotechnology companies. It typically invests in companies based in or relocating to North Carolina."

The company also raised a $450,000 grant in 2016.

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