Syntis Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has closed a $33 million Series A funding round led by Cerberus Ventures. New investors Mansueto Investments, Woori Venture Partners, and Apollo Labs joined the round, along with founding investors BOLD Capital Partners, W. R. Berkley Corporation, Safar Partners, Portal Innovations, Colorcon Ventures, and Cerity Partners Ventures. The company also secured up to $5 million from NIH through SBIR awards.
How the funding will be used: The funds will advance their SYNT platform, an oral polymer coating for the small intestine that enhances nutrient uptake and drug absorption. And this includes progressing SYNT-101 for obesity treatment and initiating Phase 1 studies for SYNT-202, a therapy for homocystinuria. So far, SYNT-101 has shown promising pre-clinical safety and weight loss results.
New board members: Syntis also announced the addition of two members to the company’s Board of Directors, Chenny Zhang, director at Cerberus Ventures, and Michael Nannizzi, director of investments at W. R. Berkley.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re grateful for the continued support and enthusiasm of our new and existing investors, who share our vision to revolutionize both chronic and rare disease treatment through safe, effective oral therapies. This oversubscribed Series A round coupled with these non-dilutive grants validates and accelerates the promise of SYNT-101 in obesity and, more broadly, our SYNT platform technology to unlock the small intestine’s full therapeutic potential to meaningfully improve human health.”
“I’m thrilled to welcome Chenny and Michael to our board. Michael has actively advised Syntis since our early days, reflecting W. R. Berkley’s consistent strategic support, and adding Chenny augments the strong foundation we have built. Her extensive life sciences experience at Cerberus Ventures and previously at In-Q-Tel will be invaluable as Syntis Bio enters our next growth phase focused on strategic partnerships and platform innovation.”
Rahul Dhanda, CEO and co-founder of Syntis Bio
“While high-cost, complex development processes continue to limit many Americans’ access to essential medicines, Syntis’ SYNT platform represents a fundamentally novel approach to the oral delivery of biologics. We believe SYNT, with its breakthrough technology and platform potential, is poised to significantly expand patient access and redefine what is possible in drug delivery. I look forward to working closely with the team to realize the full potential of their disruptive platform and pipeline.”
Chenny Zhang, director at Cerberus Ventures
