ThirtyFiveBio Limited, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) for treating of gastrointestinal (GI) disease, announced the closing of a bridge round of financing, which included a strategic investment from AbbVie Ventures, along with support from an existing investor Canaan and new investor Mayewell Capital.
This funding will help support the continued development of the company’s first-in-class GPR35 inhibitor program, which is advancing through preclinical development, including investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies designed to pave the way for initiation of first-in-human clinical trials.
GPR35 is a genetically validated target in inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis. And ThirtyFiveBio and its collaborators have shown that gain-of-function variants of GPR35 are associated with disease. Using human biology, patient data, and patient-derived assays, the company is also demonstrating that GPR35 inhibition is a modality with the potential to resolve underlying disease by preventing epithelial cell damage and dysfunction in the gut wall rather than symptomatic inflammation.
In this way, GPR35 inhibition could be considered an “epithelial shield.” As such, GPR35 is a differentiated and orthogonal approach to direct anti-inflammatory modalities with the potential to deliver a novel mechanism of treatment that will improve disease resolution and remission rates.
Supported by the company’s work with several leading academic GPR35 and clinical colitis specialists, ThirtyFiveBio is uniquely pursuing antagonism of GPR35 in patients with ulcerative colitis with first-in-class small molecule inhibitors. And the company is utilizing informatic analysis of patient tissue to identify subsets of patients who are enriched for GPR35 inhibitor responsiveness based on their unique genetic signatures and biology. The resulting biomarkers for GPR35 inhibitor responsiveness, once validated, will provide the means for precision patient selection in planned clinical trials.
KEY QUOTES:
“Despite recent advances, patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are still suffering. Abbvie Ventures invests in opportunities to deliver future pipeline substrates with the potential to break through the therapeutic ceiling in diseases like IBD. We are excited to partner with ThirtyFiveBio to explore the potential therapeutic benefit of targeting GPR35 for the treatment of IBD.”
– Timothy Radstake, M.D., Ph.D., vice president and global head of immunology discovery research, AbbVie
“We believe that we occupy a unique and advantageous position within the GPR35-targeted therapeutic space based on our deep understanding of GPR35 biology and how it contributes to GI-related diseases, including colitis and gut cancers. Our discussions with the teams at AbbVie Ventures, as well as Canaan and Mayewell Capital, generated an appreciation for both our competitive differentiation and scientific thought leadership. The support from these premier investors offers great validation for the work that our team has already undertaken in this area, as well as the broad therapeutic potential of the platform moving forward. We are eager to continue to advance the program toward the clinic with the goal of establishing proof-of-concept in patients and will be looking for further partners to come on board to support these aims through a syndicated Series A later this year.”
– James Westcott, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ThirtyFiveBio
