Syntimmune, a US-based autoimmune disease therapy developer backed by biopharmaceutical firm Baxalta, raised $50m in series B funding yesterday from a consortium led by venture capital firm Apple Tree Partners.
Apple Tree provided $48m for the round and the remaining cash was supplied by undisclosed existing backers.
Founded in 2013, Syntimmune is working on treatments for autoimmune diseases. The company’s drug candidates are based on the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), a target for some autoimmune conditions.
The funding will support the further clinical development of Syntimmune’s lead drug candidate, an antibody called Synt001 that is currently undergoing two phase 1b/2a trials. Synt001 is expected to provide treatment for a wide variety of autoimmune conditions.
Syntimmune will use part of the proceeds to scale up its manufacturing capabilities to prepare Synt001 for registration studies, and cash will also go towards further preclinical development of a second drug candidate, Synt002, and additional research efforts.
Syntimmune has raised $78m in funding to date. Baxalta’s investment subsidiary Baxalta Ventures and Apple Tree Partners co-led the company’s $26m series A round with in November 2016.
The round was raised over three tranches, with a first $8m close achieved in 2014 and a $10m extension added in March 2016. The round included Partners Innovation Fund, the corporate venturing arm of healthcare system Partners HealthCare, and undisclosed investors.
David de Graaf, president and chief executive of Syntimmune, said: “We are grateful for the continuing support of our engaged investor syndicate. This funding will further increase the momentum of our clinical development program.
“Based on this progress, we anticipate announcing the first clinical data from our phase 1b/2a program and other translational research findings by early next year.
“Syntimmune is poised to maintain its position as the leader in FcRn biology as we plan for rapid expansion into pivotal studies and additional indications.”