Pharmaceutical firm Novo co-led a $50m series B round US-based musculoskeletal disease therapy developer Edgewise Therapeutics on Tuesday with venture capital firm US Venture Partners (USVP).
The round also featured hedge fund sponsor Deerfield Management, VC firm New Leaf Venture Partners, healthcare investment firm OrbiMed and CureDuchenne Ventures, the VC arm of non-profit organisation CureDuchenne.
Founded in 2017, Edgewise is working on treatments for musculoskeletal diseases where muscular contraction leads to membrane stress and muscle fibre breakdown. It is also researching neuromuscular disorders and metabolic disorders.
The company will use the funding to advance its lead drug candidate into clinical testing for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy. It has not revealed details of past funding but identified OrbiMed as its founding investor.
Kenneth Harrison, principal at Novo subsidiary Novo Ventures, is joining the company’s board of directors along with USVP general partner Jonathan Root, while Robert Jackson, a partner at Deerfield who is also its chief science officer, is taking a board observer position.
Harrison said: “We believe the Edgewise approach will arrest muscle damage, the initiating hallmark of disease in muscular dystrophy patients, thus limiting the subsequent inflammatory and fibrotic response while preserving muscle integrity and physical function.”
