Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AbbVie have invested in a $50m series A round for US-based protein drug developer Jnana Therapeutics through respective subsidiaries Pfizer R&D Innovate and AbbVie Ventures.
Venture capital firms Polaris Partners, Avalon Ventures and Versant Ventures also participated in the round, which followed an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Polaris and Avalon.
Jnana is developing a drug discovery platform dedicated to solute carrier (SLC) transporters, proteins that move substances across cellular membranes.
The company believes SLC transporters could be used as targets for immuno-oncology therapies as well as treatments for inflammatory disorders and neurological diseases, and is targeting the body’s immunometabolism, lysosomal function and mucosal defence pathways.
Amir Nashat, Jnana’s chief executive and a partner at Polaris, said: “Our proprietary chemistry and biology platform allows us to systematically advance medicines based on the biology of these ancient information gathering systems.
“We are targeting a broad range of medical conditions with significant unmet need and we are fortunate to have the support of leaders in medicine and biotechnology.”
In addition to Nashat, Avalon Ventures founder Kevin Kinsella and Versant Ventures partner Carlo Rizzuto have joined Jnana’s board of directors.