Solarea Bio – a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Mass. developing food-derived microbial-based solutions to aid human health – announced recently a first closing of $15 million in a Series B financing led by S2G Ventures with the continued participation of Bold Capital Partners, Viking Global Investors, and GG 1978 SICAF SIF. There is a total of up to $25 million targeted for this round of financing.
The funding will be allocated to the commercial launch of 2 medical foods designed for the dietary management of bone health and rheumatoid arthritis, respectively.
Solarea has developed its platform to characterize beneficial microbes that naturally colonize fresh fruits and vegetables, developed them into rationally designed synbiotic consortia called Defined Microbial Assemblages (DMAs), and validated their efficacy in several disease models. And the first product SBD111, a medical food designed to aid in the dietary management of bone loss in postmenopausal women demonstrated significant bone maintenance in a mouse model of postmenopausal osteoporosis and results were published in a peer-reviewed journal.
This product demonstrated a safety and tolerability profile comparable to a placebo in healthy subjects, and a large efficacy study is ongoing to demonstrate its effects on maintaining bone mass in postmenopausal women. And the second medical food product SBD121 is designed to aid in the dietary management of rheumatoid arthritis and will enter a human study later this year.
Solarea Bio has been building a pipeline of other products utilizing a deep understanding of the interactions of DMA products with the immune system. And scientific rigor is one of the company’s core values and it is manifested in the caliber of the data, team, advisors, and collaborators.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are very excited to see the rapid progression from our founding hypothesis: that microbes from fresh fruits and vegetables have health benefits, to the clinical validation stage, and the upcoming commercial launches. I thank our amazing team for their hard work and dedication to execute on our lofty goals. A big part of the company’s success has been the role our outstanding investors played partnering with a great team at Solarea, and we are looking forward to continuing successes as we transition to a commercial stage by launching our medical food products to the market.”
– Gerardo V Toledo, CEO and co-founder
“Solarea Bio embodies attributes S2G Ventures seek in the companies we invest. These include a an incredibly dedicated team, a clear vision to create products with a positive impact in our society, and a path to commercialize them.”
– Matthew Walker, Managing Director, and board member
“It is heartening to see the evolution of Solarea Bio from its beginnings at the Illumina Accelerator. Bold Capital looks forward to the launches of Solarea’s first two products over the coming few years. Looking farther out, the company’s rich database and strain library positions it to introduce a stream of future products addressing other important health conditions.”
– Neal Bhadkamkar, General partner at Bold Capital Partners and board director
