- Financing led by leading life sciences venture capital firm
Forbion, with participation from existing investors SV
Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and Novartis
Venture Fund (NVF)
- Lead programme targeting MutSβ set to enter the
clinic in 2026, offering a potentially disease-modifying therapy
for Huntington's disease
- Forbion General Partner Rogier Rooswinkel joins Board of
Directors
CAMBRIDGE, England,
Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LoQus23
Therapeutics Ltd ("LoQus23"), a private biotechnology company
investigating small molecule drugs that could stop DNA instability
and slow neurodegeneration in Huntington's Disease, myotonic
dystrophy type 1 and similar triplet repeat expansion diseases,
today announces the successful close of its £35 million
(c.$43 million) Series A financing.
The financing round was led by Forbion, alongside existing
investors SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and
Novartis Venture Fund (NVF). Forbion General Partner Rogier
Rooswinkel will join LoQus23's Board of Directors.
LoQus23 was founded in 2019 by Entrepreneurs in Residence at DDF
Dr David Reynolds, Dr Caroline Benn, and Dr Ruth McKernan CBE, FMedSci. It received
additional seed funding from NVF in 2021. The Company has since
established a platform of assays and a small molecule series of
MutSα and MutSβ inhibitors which are therapeutically relevant in up
to 30 triplet repeat diseases, including Huntington's Disease.
The Mismatch Repair (MMR) branches of the DNA Damage Repair
(DDR) system repair DNA insertions, deletions and misincorporation
errors during transcription and/or cellular replication, with two
main pathways dependent upon the size of mismatch – MutSα for small
mismatches and MutSβ for larger insertion/deletion loops.
Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative
disorder for which there is currently no disease modifying
treatment available and which has 30,000 patients in the US alone.
By targeting somatic expansion, LoQus23 is hoping to slow or even
halt the onset and progression of Huntington's disease, a concept
supported by genetic studies and recently strengthened by
pre-clinical models.
The proceeds of the Series A financing will be primarily used to
support the pre-clinical development and initial clinical studies
of LoQus23's lead programme, an allosteric small molecule MutSβ
inhibitor. The Company is preparing its lead programme to enter the
clinic in 2026.
Dr David Reynolds, Chief
Executive Officer of LoQus23 Therapeutics, said: "This
financing will enable us to develop key clinical data to support
the development of our exciting lead programme. The ever-increasing
body of data pointing to somatic expansion, caused by aberrant DNA
mismatch repair, as being the primary culprit in Huntington's
disease provides great support that our approach of developing oral
small molecule therapies will be transformative for patients with
this dreadful inherited disease. We welcome Forbion as the lead
investor of this round, alongside our existing high calibre
investors, and look forward to benefiting from their support and
expertise."
Rogier Rooswinkel, General
Partner at Forbion and newly appointed Board Member of LoQus23,
commented: "Somatic expansion is a key
driver of triplet repeat diseases like
Huntington's. In somatic
expansion, MutSβ seems the most
promising and best validated target, with the potential to bring
disease progression to a halt. LoQus23 is leading the
charge in developing allosteric small molecules
against MutSβ, and we look forward to working with
them to progress their molecules towards the clinic and ultimately
to benefit patients."
Notes to Editors
DDR System
The DDR system is a complex set of pathways involving more than
400 genes/proteins, which is required for long-term maintenance of
an organism's DNA to promote cellular health throughout a lifetime
of damaging events.
MMR
MutSα and MutSβ are part of the MMR system, which is heavily
implicated by human genetic and mechanistic studies to be the root
cause of Huntington's disease and other related triplet repeat
diseases. It is now clear that the initial driver of disease
pathophysiology is MMR-mediated CAG repeat expansion in the
Huntingtin gene, a process known as somatic expansion. Once a
critical threshold number of CAG repeats is reached, then the
second phase of neuronal dysfunction and ultimately death follows,
which causes the slowly progressing symptoms in patients.
About LoQus23 Therapeutics Ltd
LoQus23 is a biotech company based in Cambridge, UK, developing small molecule
somatic expansion inhibitors for the treatment of Huntington's
Disease and other triplet repeat disorders. Huntington's disease is
an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder for which there is
currently no disease modifying treatment available and which
currently has 30,000 patients in the US alone.
LoQus23's approach has the potential to stop DNA instability and
therefore slow neurodegeneration in these diseases. LoQus23 is
focused on using a structure-based approach to design small
molecule drugs, which can offer more convenient administration than
other approaches. Oral small molecule drugs have a strong track
record in treating complex brain diseases and provide greater
convenience for patients compared with other advanced treatment
modalities.
LoQus23 has a highly experienced leadership team, built on
world-class science. It was originally established in 2019 by Dr
David Reynolds, Dr Caroline Benn, and Dr Ruth McKernan CBE, FMedSci, Entrepreneurs in
Residence at SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund, which
also acted as the initial seed investor.
For more information, please visit: www.loqus23.com
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with
offices in The Netherlands,
Boston and Germany. Forbion invests in life sciences
companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space.
Forbion manages €3.2 billion across multiple fund strategies that
cover all stages of (bio-) pharmaceutical drug development.
Forbion's current team consists of over 30 life sciences investment
professionals that have built an impressive performance track
record since the late nineties with investments in over 110
companies across nine funds. Forbion's record of sourcing, building
and guiding life sciences companies has resulted in many approved
breakthrough therapies and valuable exits. Besides financial
objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect
the health and well-being of patients. The firm is a signatory to
the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Forbion
operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and
early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.
For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com
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