US-based liver disease therapy startup Ambys Medicines has launched with $60m in series A funding from pharmaceutical firm Takeda and healthcare-focused venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures.
In addition to putting up $20m for the series A round, Takeda is providing a further $80m through a strategic partnership agreement in order to finance Ambys research. Asit Parikh, head of Takeda’s Gastroenterology Therapeutic Area Unit, has taken a seat on the board of directors at Ambys.
Ambys is working on a range of treatments for chronic liver diseases that include gene therapies that will help liver regeneration and drug treatments that will assist in replacing lost protein functions.
The company is also developing cell therapies that will aid hepatocyte transplantation, a process where hepatocytes, a type of liver cell, are replaced while leaving the rest of the organ alone.
Takeda has acquired the option to get ex-US commercialisation rights to the first four Ambys product candidates to be submitted for an investigational new drug application. If it exercises that option it will provide half the development costs for that program while supplying milestone payments.
Jeffrey Tong, a Third Rock venture partner who is also CEO of Ambys, said: “Ambys will undertake an intense and sustained effort to advance fundamental science and technology, while developing multiple programs aimed at diverse liver disease targets.
“We are uniting a broad range of scientific innovators to help lead a new era of discovery and clinical translation for people with severe liver diseases, and we are delighted to join forces with Takeda in this important effort.”
– For Global University Venturing’s take, click here.