Glycomine, a US-based developer of replacement therapies for rare diseases, has raised $12m in a series A round featuring Chiesi Ventures, the investment vehicle of pharmaceutical and specialist medicine company Chiesi Group.
Sanderling Ventures, an investment firm that targets life sciences and biomedical companies, led the round, which also featured unnamed high net worth individuals and patients who backed Glycomine’s previous financings.
Founded in 2013, Glycomine develops specialised drugs to treat rare metabolism and protein misfolding disorders by sending replacement therapies into the organs that require treatment.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to complete pre-clinical studies as well as initiate studies of substrate replacement therapy in patients with Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation Type Ia, an inherited metabolic disorder.
In addition, Glycomine will work to speed up the discovery of an enzyme replacement therapy for a rare genetic disorder called N-glycanase deficiency.
Glycomine did not disclose information about previous financing rounds, but according to the company’s website it secured almost $13m across its seed and series A rounds.
Giacomo Chiesi, managing partner at Chiesi Ventures, and Peter McWilliams, managing director at Sanderling Ventures, will join Glycomine’s board of directors in conjunction with the latest funding.