Treventis Corp.

TORONTO, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Treventis Corporation, a privately held biotechnology company, announced today that it has entered an option, collaboration, and license agreement with Takeda for the further research, development, and commercialization of small molecules that target tau, a key protein in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This therapeutic strategy aims to markedly reduce tau misfolding and is a potential disease-modifying mechanism in AD as well as in other tauopathies. Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will have an option to exclusively license the program worldwide for the development and commercialization of the tau program. Subject to the terms of the agreement, Treventis will receive research funding as well as an upfront payment, option exercise and future clinical and commercial milestones of up to $372.5 million if all milestones are achieved over the course of the partnership plus tiered royalties on potential net sales of any commercial product resulting from the license. "We are very excited to work with Takeda to progress new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases," said Christopher Barden, CEO of Treventis. "We believe that the Treventis tau program synergizes well with Takeda's significant expertise and commercial reach in central nervous system drug development. This partnership is a validating milestone for our Common Conformational Morphology platform as well as a major potential step forward in Alzheimer's Disease therapeutics." Targeting tau using a small molecule has proven difficult because it is an "intrinsically disordered protein", a class of proteins that have many conformations and resist attempts to experimentally document their three-dimensional structure. Treventis scientists have developed a methodology for targeting misfolding proteins using epitope commonality between multiple misfolded proteins. This information was used to create Common Conformational Morphology (CCM), a patented Treventis methodology for constructing models of the earliest stages of protein misfolding. CCM in silico prediction, coupled with special assays to evaluate speed of misfolding, allows for the identification and optimization of potent, drug-like compounds against targets such as tau. About Treventis TREVENTIS™ Corporation is dedicated to treating and preventing protein misfolding diseases. We use a proprietary, patented discovery engine – Common Conformational Morphology (CCM) – to identify druggable active sites in misfolded protein targets. CCM combines unique in silico models with deep expertise in model development (in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo) to enable rational drug design against misfolded protein targets such as tau, TDP isoforms, and other proteins with relevance to neurodegeneration (including in Alzheimer's Disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). TREVENTIS also has a program in oncology, which showcases the wide utility of our technology platform for the design and development of small molecules in protein misfolding disease. For more information, see SOURCE TREVENTIS Corporation

Funds for Development of Its Anti-Tau Drug Against Neurodegenerative Diseases BERNVILLE, Pa., Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Treventis Corporation, a privately held biotechnology company, announced today that their proposal to preclinically develop a small molecule anti-tau misfolding drug has been awarded funding totaling $2,977,166 by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), part of the DOD. Treventis' proposal, "Development of a small molecule anti-misfolding drug for frontotemporal degeneration," was submitted in response to the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program - Technology/Therapeutic Development Award (PRMRP-TTDA), which was solicited for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) J9, Research and Development Directorate, by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is a leading cause of dementia, which in many patients is initiated by an aberrant release of tau protein that would otherwise be bound to microtubules. This overabundance of free tau protein allows for formation of pathogenic oligomers which can lead to synapto and neurotoxicity in FTD. The award aims to complete manufacturing of a Treventis anti- tau small molecule in a manner consistent with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and to collect additional efficacy, pharmacology, and safety data according to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) in ultimate support of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This work will be undertaken by Treventis and a network of selected contract research organizations overseen by Treventis. "We are pleased and gratified by the DoD's funding and the feedback from their scientific review. Treventis believes that a small molecule targeting tau has significant potential as a therapeutic for protein misfolding diseases such as FTD," said Dr. Christopher Barden, CEO of Treventis. Dr. Donald Weaver, PI on the study and Chief Medical Officer of Treventis added, "This funding will allow Treventis to bring important new hypotheses about targeting protein misfolding disease into a new stage of validation, which brings an anti-tau small molecule that much closer to making a difference in the lives of dementia patients and their caregivers." About Treventis TREVENTIS™ Corporation is dedicated to treating and preventing protein misfolding diseases. We utilize a proprietary, patent-pending discovery engine – Common Conformational Morphology (CCM) – to identify druggable active sites in misfolded protein targets. CCM combines unique in silico models with deep expertise in model development (in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo) to enable rational drug design against misfolded protein targets. Our lead program focuses on anti-misfolding small molecules in tauopathy (3R, 4R, familial mutations and mixed) with relevance to Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal degeneration. We have further efforts in oncology and other neurodegenerative diseases (ALS, Parkinson's) that show the wide utility of our technology platform for the design and development of small molecules in protein misfolding disease. For more information, see About PRMRP The Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP), established in Fiscal Year 1999 (FY99), has supported research across the full range of science and medicine, with an underlying goal of enhancing the health, care, and well-being of military Service members, Veterans, retirees, and their family members. Throughout history, military medical research has pioneered breakthroughs in reconstructive surgery, the use of antibiotics, intensive care, burn care, and kidney dialysis in response to war time needs, benefitting Service members and civilians alike. Medical research supported by the PRMRP to address near-term military needs including military and personal readiness, continues this tradition. The PRMRP is committed to supporting research that has the potential to profoundly impact the development and implementation of medical devices, drugs, and clinical guidance that will enhance the precision and efficacy of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment across a wide range of disciplines. For more information, visit cdmrp.health.mil/prmrp/ DISCLAIMER This work will be supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate, or the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, in the amount of $2,977,166, through the PRMRP-TTDA under Award No. W81XWH-22-1-0746. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Defense. SOURCE TREVENTIS Corporation

How can drug developers design therapies around cellular networks rather than a single target? That is the question Arpeggio Biosciences is seeking to answer — and with a new influx of funds. The Boulder, Colorado-based startup announced the close of a $17 million Series A financing round on Wednesday, bringing its total funding to date to more than $20 million. The funding was led by Builders VC, with participation from Khosla Ventures, TechU Ventures, FundersClub, Alice Zhang, Fifty Years, Tencent, ATEM Capital, Formic Ventures, Tau Ventures, Milad Alucozai of BoxOne Ventures and and Matthew De Silva of Longtail Capital. Arpeggio is a preclinical therapeutics company whose technology platform is focused on measuring the transcriptome — which refers to the full range of mRNA molecules expressed by an organism — at scale. It was founded in 2018 by CEO Joey Azofeifa and CTO Tim Read. The pair met at the University of Colorado, where they were completing PhD research that dealt with the intersection of machine learning and transcriptomics (the study of the transcriptome). The startup’s founders launched the company because they were interested in the idea of designing therapies to elicit specific effects on the transcriptome, which Azofeifa called “kind of a crazy idea,” in a recent interview. “Typically when we think about drug development, we think about one protein or one enzyme at a time,” he said. “But if there’s one thing that the human genome has taught us, it’s that one gene does not equal one disease. It’s really a whole network of many small genetic changes that can give rise to something like autoimmunity or cancer metastasis.” Arpeggio has built technology that can monitor activity of more than 100,000 mRNA transcripts from diseased and healthy cells after they are exposed to stimuli like small molecules, biologics or antisense oligonucleotides. The startup uses machine learning to reconstruct the biological networks affected by the stimuli and matches molecules to diseases where they could be therapeutically beneficial. This technology can illuminate new mechanisms of how drugs work, according to Azofeifa. The startup will put half of the funds it raised toward maturing its own drug pipeline. It is currently working with contract research organizations to design better molecules for the treatment of mesenchymal tumors, Azofeifa said. Arpeggio will use the other to scale its partnerships with pharma companies. Under these partnerships, pharma companies send Arpeggio drugs so it can assess the impact these treatments have on the transcriptome, and the startup sells that intelligence back to these drugmakers. The company has partnered with more that 40 pharma companies so far, including Forma Therapeutics, Intrinsic Medicine and Treventis. The company could also go on to co-develop drugs with its pharma partners in the future — a scenario in which Arpeggio would collect royalties or milestone payments for drug success, Azofeifa pointed out. While there are plenty of companies that do drug screens, such as Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Insilico Medicine, Azofeifa contends that Arpeggio is the only one focusing on the effect drugs have on the transcriptome. Other companies can measure things like whether a drug kills cells or whether it activates the immune system, but he said they do not “capture the true effect that drugs can have on the entire network of RNA.”