Abcuro – a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer through precise modulation of cytotoxic T and NK cells – recently announced the successful close of an oversubscribed $155 million Series B financing co-led by Redmile Group and Bain Capital Life Sciences.
The new and existing investors also participated in the financing including RA Capital Management, Samsara BioCapital, Sanofi Ventures, New Leaf Ventures, Pontifax, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, LLC, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Mass General Brigham Ventures, Eurofarma, and Soleus Capital.
Abcuro will use the funding roundto complete a Phase 2/3 registrational clinical trial evaluating ABC008, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting killer cell lectin like receptor G1 (KLRG1), for the treatment of inclusion body myositis (IBM). And the company will also focus on completing a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ABC008 in T cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia (T-LGLL), as well as initiating a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in T and NK cell lymphomas.
KEY QUOTES:
“Support from such a strong group of investors will allow us to complete our development programs in diseases where there are few to no treatment options available. We are very motivated by the patients we serve and are excited by the clinical data we’ve seen to date. We’re committed to executing on our clinical trials including our registrational trial in inclusion body myositis.”
— Alex Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Abcuro
“IBM, like other autoimmune diseases, is progressive and devastating for patients. Targeting the depletion of cytotoxic T cells that express KLRG1 with ABC008 is a novel approach that has generated exciting early data in patients with IBM. These data are also supportive of using ABC008 in other diseases like T-LGLL in which cytotoxic T cells are pathogenic, and mature T and NK cell lymphomas in which KLRG1 expressing cells are malignant. We look forward to further advancing these programs in the clinic.”
— H. Jeffrey Wilkins, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Abcuro
