- Axial Biotherapeutics, a biotech company dedicated to building gut-targeted therapeutics, announced it raised $10 million
Axial Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company dedicated to building a unique class of gut-targeted therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder, announced it has raised $10 million in funding from Taiho Ventures LLC — which is the corporate venture capital arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
This investment round will enable the company to fund the discovery and development of novel gut-targeted and small molecule approaches in oncology.
“Axial has built, and continues to build, an exciting and innovative discovery platform that targets the gut-brain axis but we also believe that additional diseases and disorders outside of CNS can stem from the gut microbiome,” said Axial Biotherapeutics co-founder and CEO David H Donabedian, Ph.D. “We are pleased that Taiho Ventures sees the potential of this discovery platform, and we are honored to have their support as we look to progress the breadth and depth of our scientific platform. Just as we have done with the CNS space, we look to reshaping the scientific understanding of oncology with gut-targeted therapies.”
In conjunction with this round of funding, Taiho Ventures president Sakae Asanuma is joining the company’s board of directors.
“We are excited to partner with Axial as we see astounding potential in its platform approach to drug development beyond CNS indications. As such, we are eager to work with the team to identify therapeutic interventions harnessing the gut-brain axis where the company’s novel technology can be applied,” added Asanuma. “We look forward to supporting David and the Axial team.”
The $10 million investment Taiho Ventures is considered an extension of Axial’s previously closed Series B round in February 2019. And Axial will continue to maintain control of the new oncology programs while Taiho Ventures will have a first right to negotiate for an exclusive license related to new programs. Axial is retaining all of its rights to its existing CNS programs.
