Imbria Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Attovia Therapeutics is turning fundraising announcements into an annual tradition. In June 2023, the San Carlos, CA-based startup launched with $60 million. Then in May 2024, it announced a $105 million Series B . And now the startup has raised $90 million in a Series C, it announced Tuesday. The new round took just three months to put together, CEO Tao Fu told Endpoints News. “Considering the environment, it is quite fast,” Fu said. Attovia’s pipeline of multispecific biologics is rooted in a biologics platform that it licensed from precision proteomics company Alamar Biosciences. Fu said the money, coupled with existing funds, will bankroll it through Phase 2 proof-of-concept trials for its first two biparatopic nanobodies. Attovia’s speedy fundraise came together despite a bleak backdrop for the broader biotech field, in which many startups are struggling to raise cash in later-stage rounds. A few other biotechs have pulled together large, late-stage private rounds this year, but the pace of large rounds is down slightly from last year, according to data collected by Endpoints. Attovia is in Phase 1 with an anti-IL-31 biologic called ATTO-1310. The company hopes to treat chronic pruritus of unknown origin with the quarterly, under-the-skin injectable. It would compete with Galderma, which also has an anti-IL-31 monoclonal antibody, called Nemluvio, on the market for prurigo nodularis and atopic dermatitis . Jefferies analysts have predicted more than $2 billion in peak sales for the drug. Galderma’s drug targets the IL-31 receptor, whereas ATTO-1310 goes after the IL-31 ligand, Fu said. Attovia hopes that will give its investigational medicine a leg up in terms of quicker itch relief. Behind that asset is another anti-IL-13xIL-31 bispecific for atopic dermatitis and other inflammatory skin conditions. Called ATTO-3712, it will enter Phase 1 in the second half of this year, Fu said. Another multispecific program is in the works for inflammatory bowel disease, the CEO said. The startup could consider partnering out its work in antibody-drug conjugates, Fu said. Deep Track Capital led the round. Attovia’s roster of investors also includes Vida Ventures, Sanofi’s venture arm, Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, Frazier Life Sciences, venBio, Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Cormorant Asset Management, among others. As part of the funding, Deep Track managing director Rebecca Luse joined Attovia’s board. Luse also joined the board of Imbria Pharmaceuticals as part of the cardiometabolic startup’s $57.5 million Series B last week.

▎药明康德内容团队报道根据公开信息，上周（4月7日~4月13日），全球范围内有至少7家致力于创新药研发的新锐公司宣布完成新一轮融资，其中4家来自中国。通过梳理，这些获得资本青睐的新锐公司正在开发的产品包括小分子、抗体、siRNA药物、诱导多能干细胞（iPSC）疗法等类型，针对的疾病领域涵盖癌症、心脏代谢疾病、免疫性疾病、眼科疾病、罕见病等。睿健医药融资轮次：B+轮融资金额：未披露4月11日，睿健医药宣布完成B+轮融资。本轮融资由丰川资本领投，荷塘创投跟投。根据新闻稿，该公司在短短数月间迅速完成两轮超亿元融资，合计融资金额超过2亿元人民币。睿健医药是一家专注于再生医学领域的创新生物医药公司，聚焦小分子化学转录调控诱导多能干细胞（iPSC），从而开发通用型化学诱导细胞治疗药物。NouvNeu001注射液是该公司在研的一种化学诱导的功能型人源多巴胺能神经元前体细胞，预计在近期将正式开启2期临床，针对帕金森病。该公司还正在开发面向早发型帕金森的第二款产品NouvNeu003，以及iPSC来源眼科通用型细胞治疗眼科产品NouvSight001。中盛溯源融资轮次：B轮融资金额：2.35亿元4月10日，中盛溯源宣布在B轮融资中再获数千万元资金支持。至此，中盛溯源B轮融资收官，本轮累计融资金额达2.35亿元。本次追加融资由广药资本、科金控股、合肥产投、菡源资产知名投资机构联合参与，资金将主要用于加速中盛溯源在iPSC衍生细胞治疗领域的多款临床管线开发及后续产品商业化。中盛溯源自2016年成立以来，专注于开发广泛可及的人诱导多能干细胞（iPSC）衍生细胞治疗产品。该公司在再生医学、抗炎修复、肿瘤免疫这三大领域布局了多个细胞种类和适应症的产品管线，其中5项已获批进入注册临床试验，包括iMSC和iNK细胞治疗产品，以及基因修饰iMSC产品。目前，针对膝骨关节炎、两个血液肿瘤适应症、移植物抗宿主病、间质性肺病适应症治疗的产品管线已分别处于1期和2期临床试验阶段。Imbria Pharmaceuticals融资轮次：B轮融资金额：5750万美元4月10日，Imbria Pharmaceuticals宣布成功完成5750万美元的B轮融资，由新投资者Deep Track Capital领投。参与融资的其他新投资者包括AN Ventures、Catalio Capital Management和Cytokinetics公司。现有投资者RA Capital Management和SV Health Investors也提供了融资。Imbria是一家临床阶段公司，致力于为患有改变生活的心脏代谢疾病的患者开发新疗法。该公司的临床在研管线旨在恢复或改善心脏代谢疾病中细胞产生能量的能力，这种能力的障碍是疾病发病机制、症状和功能缺陷的基本因素。该公司在研疗法ninerafaxstat是一种新型心脏线粒体和部分脂肪酸氧化（pFOX）抑制剂，可将心脏的偏好从脂肪酸转向葡萄糖。这种新陈代谢的转变可以更有效地产生能量，并有可能改善静息和运动时的心脏功能。本轮融资所得将用于推进ninerafaxstat在非阻塞性肥厚性心肌病（nHCM）受试者中的2b期随机、双盲、安慰剂对照临床试验，该公司计划在2025年第二季度启动该试验，并在2026年底获得顶线数据。Solu Therapeutics融资轮次：A轮融资金额：4100万美元4月9日，Solu Therapeutics宣布完成4100万美元的A轮融资，其中包括五家新投资者的参与——礼来公司（Eli Lilly and Company）、Biovision Ventures、Pappas Capital、Hengdian Group Capital (HgC)、以及The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program，此外还有现有投资者的持续支持。Solu是一家生物技术公司，由Longwood Fund共同创立，该公司致力于开发一类创新的治疗药物，将小分子与单克隆抗体独特地配对，以消除癌症、免疫学和其他治疗领域的疾病驱动细胞。该公司还同时宣布启动在研项目STX-0712的首次人体1期临床试验，评估该产品对耐药/难治性慢性髓细胞白血病（CMML）和其他血液恶性肿瘤患者的疗效。STX-0712旨在选择性地消除晚期血液恶性肿瘤患者的G蛋白偶联受体CCR2阳性恶性单核细胞，有望为耐药/难治性血液肿瘤提供更精准、有效的治疗选择。Merida Biosciences融资轮次：A轮融资金额：1.21亿美元4月8日，Merida Biosciences宣布完成1.21亿美元的A轮融资。此次融资由Bain Capital Life Sciences、BVF Partners和Third Rock Ventures共同领投，GV和Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Funds （PXV Funds）也参与了融资。Merida公司开发了一种新的平台，可以产生独特的Fc疗法，旨在选择性地识别和结合特定抗体，并利用人体清除抗体复合物的自然机制，将其靶向快速完全消除。这类疗法有可能推动病原抗体的深度和持久消耗，而不会产生广泛的免疫抑制和由此产生的毒性。这类疗法也针对产生致病抗体的B细胞，目的是消除它们的来源。此外，Merida的治疗方法具有抗体样特性，可提供持续的药理作用，这有望使其为患者提供更便利的给药方案。该公司目前正在针对格雷夫斯病、过敏和原发性膜性肾病（一种影响肾脏的慢性自身免疫性疾病）开发创新项目。炫景生物融资轮次：Pre-A轮融资金额：未披露4月7日，炫景生物宣布完成Pre-A轮融资首关交割，本轮首阶段募集资金由金易赋新等进行投资，此次市场化融资将用于快速推进核心产品RG002C0106临床研究、以及肝外递送技术和药物管线的持续开发。炫景生物专注于小核酸药物的研发和产业化。该公司的首发管线RG002C0106是一款针对补体因子C3靶点开发的siRNA药物，拟用于治疗补体参与介导的原发性或继发性肾小球疾病。该产品目前正在进行临床1期研究、即将启动临床2期研究。此外，炫景生物在包括肾脏、骨骼肌、脂肪、心脏、中枢神经系统、肺、眼睛等在内的多种肝外组织建立了相关的递送技术，并布局了肝靶向和肝外组织靶向的药物管线。赛蕴生物融资轮次：天使+轮融资金额：数千万元4月7日，赛蕴生物科技（成都）有限公司（简称“赛蕴生物”）宣布完成数千万天使+轮融资。本轮融资由中科创星独家投资，募集资金将主要用于加速公司自研管线的开发进程。赛蕴生物是一家专注于靶向递送技术及其药物创新疗法研发的企业，并在肿瘤靶向治疗及细胞基因治疗等领域布局了多条研发管线。此前该公司已获得中发领创/生命园创投基金、IDG资本、英诺天使等多家知名投资机构的数千万元天使轮融资。期待在资本的助力下，更多前沿疗法和技术能够更快惠及患者。参考资料：[1]各公司官网及公开资料本文来自药明康德内容团队，欢迎个人转发至朋友圈，谢绝媒体或机构未经授权以任何形式转载至其他平台。转载授权或其他合作需求，请联系wuxi_media@wuxiapptec.com。免责声明：药明康德内容团队专注介绍全球生物医药健康研究进展。本文仅作信息交流之目的，文中观点不代表药明康德立场，亦不代表药明康德支持或反对文中观点。本文也不是治疗方案推荐。如需获得治疗方案指导，请前往正规医院就诊。

A biotech incubated by RA Capital has secured a $57.5 million Series B to begin a mid-stage trial for its cardio drug this quarter and get to a readout in late 2026. Imbria Pharmaceuticals has now raised a total of about $150 million in equity financing, CEO Alvin Shih exclusively told Endpoints News . The Boston startup, which has eight employees, has not previously disclosed its fundraising. Imbria’s financial backers include RA, SV Health Investors, Deep Track Capital, AN Ventures and Catalio Capital Management. The money is expected to help the company prove whether its oral medicine, code-named ninerafaxstat , can treat patients with non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, in a Phase 2b study. The biotech now has a runway into the second half of 2027, according to Shih, who joined Imbria as a board member last year and is now CEO. Anne Prener, a former partner at SV Health, was president and CEO of Imbria from 2020 until September, according to her LinkedIn. Shih has spent the past few quarters trying to secure funding in a challenging market. “It has not been easy. The environment is very difficult, but I would say raising money for my previous company — Catamaran [Bio] in the cell therapy space — was impossible,” he said, referring to the CAR-NK cell therapy biotech that closed last year . “This was just difficult.” Imbria will also benefit from the expertise of Cytokinetics, which chipped into the startup’s Series B. “Their involvement validates our approach,” Shih said. The California drug developer’s aficamten is in late-stage development in similar cardio fields as Imbria’s ninerafaxstat; however, Cytokinetics doesn’t have any operational control over ninerafaxstat, Shih confirmed. Eventually, and maybe with the help of a partner, Imbria plans to continue testing the twice-daily drug in other cardio indications like heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF. The drug has already gone through a Phase 2a in HFpEF. Imbria said the drug met the trial’s primary endpoint in a presentation at last month’s annual American College of Cardiology conference. “It’s become an epidemic,” Shih said. “HFpEF is the fastest-growing segment of heart failure, and it’s clear that even with GLP-1s, you haven’t totally fixed the problem, and so patients are going to need additional therapeutics.” Ninerafaxstat is a partial fatty acid oxidation (pFOX) inhibitor. Shih said the goal is to make the heart less reliant on fatty acids, which is common in heart failure patients, and more reliant on glucose, which could boost metabolism and make for a more well-oiled mitochondrial engine. With better energy generation, cardiac function should improve. Shih said the experimental oral drug has demonstrated improvement in “cardiac energetics,” key functional outcomes and quality of life outcomes, including on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, a self-administered survey for heart failure patients. “That is what is going to be the approvable endpoint in both HCM and HFpEF,” Shih said. RA Capital got the idea from a decades-old drug called trimetazidine , which has been commercialized in Europe to treat angina but is not approved by the FDA. “It’s known to have some activity in the cardiac mitochondria, but what they wanted to do was to optimize the molecule and they ended up creating a new molecule that results in trimetazidine as one of its metabolites, but also has other active metabolites,” Shih said. It’s “sort of getting more bang for the buck on the mechanism, which is in the mitochondria.”