Mozart Therapeutics – a leading developer of CD8 Treg Modulators for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases – announced it has raised $25 million from new investors in a Series A extension, bringing the total raise to $80 million. The funding will be used to advance the company’s lead candidate, MTX-101, into first-in-human clinical trials and to support pipeline expansion.
The new investors Pfizer Ventures, AbbVie Ventures, Ono Venture Investment and UPMC Enterprises participated in the round. And they join existing Mozart investors ARCH Venture Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Eli Lilly & Company, MRL Ventures Fund (the early-stage therapeutics-focused fund of Merck & Co., Inc.), Leaps by Bayer, Altitude Life Science Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments. In association with the funding, Marie-Claire Peakman, PhD, Partner of Pfizer Ventures, and Jasmina Marjanovic, PhD, Director AbbVie Ventures, will join Mozart’s Board of Directors.
Mozart is developing a portfolio of CD8 Treg Modulators including MTX-101 – which is a bispecific autoimmune checkpoint inhibitor, for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. And the company anticipates filing an IND and initiating a Phase 1 clinical trial for MTX-101 in early 2024. An additional cytokine based CD8 Treg network Modulator is in preclinical development.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are proud to be developing first-in-class CD8 Treg Modulators with the support of high-quality investors who share our commitment to transform the treatment paradigm for patients with autoimmune diseases. We have made significant progress toward our mission of developing disease-modifying therapeutics that restore immune balance, and this additional capital will help support the advancement of our lead candidate, MTX-101, into the clinic while also funding expansion of our pipeline.”
— Katie Fanning, President and CEO of Mozart Therapeutics
“Pfizer Ventures is pleased to support Mozart’s mission to develop next generation therapies and to deliver potential benefits to patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. We look forward to the company’s emerging data demonstrating the promise to bring forward novel CD8 Treg modulators with broad therapeutic potential.”
— Marie-Claire Peakman, PhD, Partner Pfizer Ventures
“We are excited about the science and approach Mozart is taking to restore immune balance across a spectrum of autoimmune mediated diseases. There remains significant unmet need for new treatments that are safe and effective, and we look forward to supporting the company through its next phase of growth.”
— Jasmina Marjanovic, PhD, Director AbbVie Ventures
