Respiratory biotech Celea raises $180m, and other financings
This week's collection of venture capital financings in the biotech arena includes rounds for Celea, Beeline, Flare, Lycia, and Telum.
PureTech's Celea eyes phase 3 for IPF drug after $180m round
Armed with an impressive $180 million financing, Celea Therapeutics has hatched a plan to start an ambitious phase 3 trial of its lead drug, a modified derivative of Roche's Esbriet (pirfenidone), in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Celea was set up by hub-and-spoke biotech PureTech Health last year to advance a deuterated form of pirfenidone, deupirfenidone (LYT-100), to improve on Esbriet and rival IPF therapy Ofev (nintedanib) from Boehringer Ingelheim, which achieved only modest benefits in slowing lung function decline, largely due to gastrointestinal side effects that limit the ability to achieve higher doses that could improve efficacy.
Deuteration of a molecule involves replacing hydrogen atoms with deuterium, which can reduce side effects by creating a more stable drug molecule that is harder to break down, and may deliver a longer half-life and reduced formation of toxic metabolites. That seems to be the case with deupirfenidone, which in phase 2b testing showed a better side-effect profile than Esbriet as well as efficacy in reducing forced vital capacity (FVC) decline compared to placebo.
PureTech, which still holds a 35.4% stake in Celea, participated in the new round alongside RA Capital Management and Leaps by Bayer.
Buzz builds for Beeline with $126m Series A extension
Less than three months after bursting onto the biotech scene with a $300 million Series A for its pipeline of drugs for immunology and inflammation therapies licensed from Bristol Myers Squibb, Beeline Medicines has added another $126 million to the honeypot.
The extension to the first round comes from existing investors Bain Capital, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and BMS, along with some members of the company's management team. It will support "several clinical studies" across the company's five development candidates, including pivotal studies of lead drug afimetoran (BMS-986256), a once-daily, oral TLR7/8 inhibitor, in lupus.
The start-up - with operations in Stamford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts - is also working on IL-2-CD25 fusion protein BLN-326 (BMS-986326) for lupus and atopic dermatitis, and oral TYK2 inhibitor lomedeucitinib for psoriasis, which are in phase 1b and 2 testing, respectively. Two other assets - anti-IL-18 receptor beta antibody BLN-481 and myeloid‑selective IL‑10 therapeutic BLN-498 - have not yet started clinical testing.
Flare sheds light on new strategy after $85m round
Flare Therapeutics has announced a new strategic plan, built around a pair of prostate cancer therapies, alongside an $85 million Series C and a change in top leadership.
The financing, led by existing investors in the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech, including Third Rock Ventures and Nextech Invest, will be directed to the development of FX-111, described as a first-in-class selective degrader targeting hormone-bound androgen receptor (ARON), which is being prepared to start clinical testing in the third quarter and could have advantages over current therapies directed at unbound androgen receptors (AROFF). The second project – an ARON regulated induced proximity targeting chimaera (RIPTAC) – is following in preclinical development. A bladder cancer therapy in phase 1b, FX-909, will be offered up for partnering.
The task of implementing the new strategy will fall to veteran biotech executive Anna Protopapas, just announced as Flare's new chief executive. She served most recently as president and CEO of Mersana Therapeutics, bought by Day One Bio earlier this year after several clinical setbacks, and was previously president of Takea's Millennium unit.
Lycia adds $75m for allergy, thyroid disorder projects
In a fourth-round financing, South San Francisco-based Lycia Therapeutics has added $75 million to its cash reserves, earmarked for clinical testing of two protein degrader drug candidates.
The two projects are IgE-depleting LCA-0061 for food allergies and other allergic diseases, and LCA-0321, in development for thyroid autoimmune condition Graves' disease, which is designed to break down thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor autoantibodies (TRAbs). Both are still in preclinical development.
The Series D was co-led by existing investor Janus Henderson Investors and new investor Balyasny Asset Management, with a fleet of additional backers including pharma group Eli Lilly. Lycia, meanwhile, has also added to its senior management team with the hiring of Amy Bachrodt as chief financial officer and promotion of Karen Flick to general counsel.
Spanish AI-designed antimicrobial developer Telum raises €18m
Finally this week, Pamplona, Spain-based biotech Telum Therapeutics has raised €18 million ($20.5 million) in Series A financing to move its lead antimicrobial programme, based on a protein found in bacteria-infecting viruses called bacteriophages, into phase 1 clinical testing.
The candidate is being developed for hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, a Gram-negative pathogen that is becoming a problem because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. Following after are two preclinical-stage candidates for prosthetic joint infections and cardiac implantable electronic device infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus and nosocomial infections caused by Enterococcus faecium.
The round was led by AMR Action Fund, with participation from new investor Inveready and existing backers Invivo Partners, CDTI-Innvierte, Clave Capital, and Sodena.
