|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biotech Company Glycomine Tackles Rare Genetic Disease
|
|
By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good day. Biotechnology company Glycomine is trying to create the first approved therapy for a rare and potentially life-threatening genetic disease that causes symptoms such as ataxia, or loss of muscle coordination.
The San Carlos, Calif.-based company recently raised a $115 million Series C financing to take aim at the disease, known as PMM2-CDG. The condition stems from mutations in the gene for PMM2, an enzyme vital to glycosylation, or the process of attaching sugar molecules to proteins.
Glycomine’s treatment provides cells with mannose-1-phosphate, a molecule involved in glycosylation. This molecule is packaged into a lipid nanoparticle that circulates around the body, enabling the molecule to enter cells of a variety of organs and tissues, according to Chief Executive Steve Axon.
“What we’re trying to do is restore glycosylation downstream,” Axon said.
In clinical research, the drug has shown potential to improve ataxia, according to the company, which raised the Series C financing from investors including new backers CTI Life Sciences Fund, funds managed by Aberdeen and Advent Life Sciences. Existing investors such as Novo Holdings and Sanofi Ventures also participated.
The new capital will enable Glycomine to test the drug in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. It aims to begin dosing patients around midyear and to have data from the study in mid-2026, Axon said.
|
|
|
And now on to the news...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Breyer Capital is investing in healthcare startups inflected with technology. PHOTO: MARTIN MEISSNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
|
|
Breyer Capital hire. Billionaire venture capitalist Jim Breyer, known for funding companies such as Facebook, is expanding his search for investment opportunities at the intersection of technology and life sciences, WSJ Pro reports.
-
Now his firm Breyer Capital, which has invested in life sciences since 2016, has hired its first partner to head healthcare and life sciences: Morgan Cheatham, previously a vice president at Bessemer Venture Partners where he invested in healthcare for eight years.
-
Breyer and many other investors are financing startups applying artificial intelligence in fields such as drug discovery. But the merger of tech and life sciences is in its early stages, Breyer noted, adding that he had been looking for someone to help his firm expand in this area for two years.
|
|
|
|
|
“A lot of our new investment pace is solely dependent on brilliant founders from the biology and chemistry worlds as well as the artificial-intelligence world.”
|
|
— Jim Breyer of Breyer Capital
|
|
|
|
|
|
FDA Warns of Side Effects of Popular Hair-Loss Drug Sold by Telehealth Companies
|
|
|
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday posted a warning about generic forms of a popular hair-loss medication often sold by major telehealth companies including Hims, Keeps and Ro, citing reports of side effects including sexual dysfunction and suicidal thoughts. The warning relates to a topical spray form of the drug finasteride, also known by the brand name Propecia. The FDA said it hasn’t approved the sale of those topical forms of the drug, or any safety information related to them. Only the pill version is FDA-approved. Read the full article here.
|
|
Trump’s FDA Sends a Bullish Signal to Biotech
|
|
|
For months, investors have feared that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement would derail biomedical innovation. His ousting of Peter Marks—a senior official at the Food and Drug Administration and key proponent of faster drug approvals—sent biotech stocks tumbling last month and stoked concerns that the agency was being politicized and turned against science. A more nuanced narrative is now taking shape. While heightened vaccine scrutiny and sweeping FDA staff cuts remain serious threats, recent signals have been more upbeat. In an interview late last week, newly appointed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary—a former Johns Hopkins surgeon—delivered a relatively bullish message for the biotech sector. Read the full article here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People
Life sciences-focused investor 5AM Ventures appointed Joshua Grass as venture partner; John Kelly as partner, chief financial officer and chief operating officer; and Lauren Daniel as chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel.
Theradaptive, a startup developing targeted protein therapeutics for tissue regeneration, appointed Daniel Wolf as chief financial officer. He was most recently at Baxter International.
Imperative Care, a medtech company focused on treating vascular diseases such as stroke and pulmonary embolism, named Todd Van Horn as chief financial officer. He was previously at Candela Medical.
Early cancer detection startup Harbinger Health appointed Matt Turner as president and Hutan Ashrafian as chief medical officer.
Deals
Free Market Health, a startup helping to streamline the specialty medication fulfillment process, acquired Beeline Rx.
|
|
|
|
|
Biolinq, a San Diego-headquartered provider of metabolic health insights via wearable sensors, scored $100 million in Series C funding led by Alpha Wave.
Nourish, a New York-based nutrition counseling provider, landed $70 million in Series B funding led by J.P. Morgan Private Capital’s Growth Equity Partners.
Grove Biopharma, a Chicago-based startup developing therapies targeting previously intractable intracellular disease targets, closed a $30 million Series A round led by DCVC Bio.
Synthetic Design Lab, a San Carlos, Calif.-based antibody-drug conjugate startup advancing a novel therapeutic platform against a range of cancer indications, emerged from stealth with $20 million in seed funding from investors including Playground Global and Godfrey Capital.
Ascertain, an AI case management assistant for healthcare teams, secured $10 million in Series A financing led by Deerfield Management.
Doctronic, a New York-based AI-powered health assistant, emerged from stealth with $5 million in seed funding. Union Square Ventures led the round, which included participation from Tusk Ventures.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roche plans to create a new manufacturing center to produce its weight-loss drugs. PHOTO: ARND WIEGMANN/REUTERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-
An investment fund sets out to free biotech’s ‘trapped capital’ (BioPharma Dive)
-
Tempus AI in line for $200M from AstraZeneca, Pathos deal to develop cancer model (Fierce Biotech)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
