Syntaxin, a UK-based biotech company for pain relief, has raised £18m ($29m) in its series C round from a consortium including multiple corporate venturing units.
Healthcare companies Ipsen, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Johnson & Johnson were the corporate venturing units. Lundbeckfond Ventures, an open and evergreen life science venture fund managed by the asset management subsidiary of Denmark’s Lundbeck Foundation, and venture capital (VC) firms Abingworth, Life Sciences Partners (LSP), Seventure Partners and Quest For Growth made up the rest of the consortium.
The C round will help Syntaxin develop its Targeted Secretion Inhibitor (TSI) technology platform to control the production of hormones.
Syntaxin’s lead internal product is in preclinical development for Acromegaly, a disease resulting from excessive secretion of growth hormone.
Syntaxin also has a strategic alliance with drugs company Allergan for a neuronal TSI for treatment of chronic pain.
In February, Syntaxin hired Melanie Lee as the company’s chief executive from her previous role as president of new medicines at Belgium’s UCB; Nigel Clark, as chief business officer from being vice president of business development with Vernalis; and Jon Court, as chief development officer setting up and running Fulcrum Pharma.
In October 2007, Syntaxin raised $32m for its series B round from GSK’s SR One, and corporate venturing peer Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), as well as VCs LSP, Abingworth and Quest for Growth.
In November 2005, Syntaxin was the first spin out from the UK Health Protection Agency backed by up to £6m from the agency and Abingworth.