SciRhom Secures EUR 63 Million Series A Financing Round to Accelerate iRhom2-targeting Therapies in Autoimmune Diseases
09 July 2024 - 7:00AM
UK Regulatory
SciRhom Secures EUR 63 Million Series A Financing Round to
Accelerate iRhom2-targeting Therapies in Autoimmune Diseases
The upsized and oversubscribed Series A financing round will
be used to drive the lead development program toward clinical
proof-of-concept and to broaden the therapeutic value of the
proprietary iRhom2 strategy.
Munich, Germany, July 9, 2024 – SciRhom GmbH, a
biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of
first-in-class therapeutic iRhom2 antibodies, announced today the
closing of a EUR 63 million (USD 70 million) Series A financing
round. The round was co-led by Andera Partners, Kurma Partners,
Hadean Ventures, MIG Capital, and Wellington Partners, with
participation from new investor Bayern Kapital and existing
investors including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and PhiFund
Ventures from New York, USA. The new funds will be used to
accelerate and broaden the impact of the company’s innovative
therapeutic strategy in autoimmune disorders. The first clinical
study evaluating SR-878, a highly specific monoclonal antibody for
iRhom2, is expected to start dosing in the second half of 2024.
SciRhom was founded with the mission to provide a new treatment
paradigm for autoimmune diseases and potentially other indications
by selectively addressing TACE/ADAM17, a master switch for various
autoimmune disease-relevant signaling pathways, via iRhom2. The
SciRhom team collaborated closely with co-founders Prof. Carl
Blobel and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the world’s leading
academic medical center specialized in Rheumatology and
musculoskeletal health, where Prof. Blobel serves as Director of
the Arthritis and Tissue Degeneration Program. He has made seminal
contributions to the understanding of how iRhom2 controls the
activity of TACE/ADAM17 in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
SciRhom designed its most advanced development candidate SR-878 to
simultaneously block several pro-inflammatory and disease-driving
pathways, including TNF-alpha, IL-6R, and EGFR signaling, while
preserving other vital functions dependent on TACE/ADAM17.
This unique ability to attack multiple cytokines and to
potentially promote immune tolerance through restoring beneficial
TNFR2 signaling, and regulatory T-cell expansion promises to have a
transformative effect in patients across a wide range of autoimmune
diseases. Moreover, the selective targeting of iRhom2 is expected
to have a favorable safety profile.
“Since its foundation, SciRhom has applied rigorous science
to establish a leading position in iRhom2-targeting
biopharmaceuticals including a comprehensive IND/CTA-enabling data
and CMC package and strong patent protection. Now is the time to
shift gears and accelerate our novel and potentially groundbreaking
therapeutic strategy toward clinical proof-of-concept and beyond to
reach patients in need of better autoimmune treatments,”
commented co-founder Dr. Jens Ruhe, Managing Director & COO of
SciRhom.
Based on positive preclinical data sets generated in vitro and
in established animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), SciRhom has advanced its first
program to a Phase 1-ready stage. As announced on June 12th, 2024,
the first CTA approval was achieved paving the way for initiating a
first clinical study in Austria in the second half of 2024. The
study aims to evaluate safety in healthy volunteers and provide
initial evidence of clinical activity in the second part of the
study.
Dr. Jan Poth, Managing Director & CEO of SciRhom added:
“We are excited to have attracted such a high-caliber
international consortium of investors and appreciate our existing
shareholders backing SciRhom in this crucial period of its
development. We look forward to collaborating with our new as well
as existing partners and board members to bring a differentiated
therapeutic option to patients and address the unmet medical need
for much more effective and safe treatments for autoimmune
disorders.”
“We are delighted to have supported SciRhom from its
inception all the way to CTA approval and are now looking forward
to working with the new investors to take SciRhom's lead antibody
into the clinic,” commented Hans-Ulrich Rabe, current Chairman
of the Advisory Board and one of the four founding investors who
jointly invest in biotech start-ups via their investment platform
Ventura Ace.
In conjunction with this investment, Dr. Olivier Litzka from
Andera Partners, Dr. Peter Neubeck from Kurma Partners, Dr.
Georgina Askeland from Hadean Ventures, Dr. Fei Tian from MIG
Capital and Dr. Varun Gupta from Wellington Partners will join
SciRhom’s Board of Directors.
They together stated “iRhom2 is a key driver of inflammation
and SR-878 offers a first-in-class opportunity for multi-pathway
inhibition as well as promoting immune and tissue homeostasis. This
approach has a transformative potential for patients with
autoimmune diseases that are currently difficult to treat with
existing drugs. SciRhom is led by a highly experienced and
dedicated team of people who we strongly believe will be able to
drive SR-878 to clinical validation.”
The team of SNP Schlawien Partnerschaft led by Dr. Thomas Schmid
acted as legal advisor to SciRhom in the transaction.
About iRhom2
TACE (TNF-alpha converting enzyme, also known as ADAM17) controls
several major signaling pathways, including TNF-alpha, IL-6R, and
EGFR signaling. TACE is therefore widely accepted as a potential
target to block pro-inflammatory pathways, but direct inhibition of
TACE causes severe side effects. The more recent discovery that
iRhom2 (inactive Rhomboid 2, RHBDF2) simultaneously and very
specifically regulates the TACE-dependent release of TNF-alpha and
other pro-inflammatory molecules from immune cells provides the
exciting opportunity to target the disease-driving activities of
TACE while preserving its other vital functions. Given the pivotal
role of iRhom2, numerous new research studies have recently
highlighted the therapeutic potential of targeting iRhom2 to treat
immunological and inflammatory diseases and beyond, including
oncological, infectious, and metabolic diseases.
About SciRhom
At SciRhom, we are translating world-leading expertise in the
TACE/ADAM17 pathway and its central role in autoimmunity and other
indications into breakthrough biopharmaceuticals. We are developing
proprietary and first-in-class iRhom2-targeting therapies and are
accelerating our lead antibody program SR-878 into and through
clinical development. With strong support from international lead
investors Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, MIG
Capital, Wellington Partners, as well as Bayern Kapital and current
shareholders, SciRhom aims to push the boundaries in autoimmune
medicine.
For further information, please visit www.SciRhom.com
Contact
SciRhom GmbH
Dr. Jan Poth (Managing Director & CEO)
Email: info@SciRhom.com
Valency Communications
Mario Brkulj
Email: mbrkulj@valencycomms.eu
- SciRhom Leadership Team (2024)
- 240709_SciRhom_Series_A_Financing_FINAL