Artax Biopharma Raises $10M in Series B Funding

artaxArtax Biopharma, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based clinical stage biotechnology company developing selective oral therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, raised $10M in Series B funding.

The round was led by Henri Termeer, former CEO of Genzyme, and Advent Life Sciences; with participation from A.M. Pappas and existing investors. In conjunction with the financing, Henri Termeer and Raj Parekh, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, will join Artax’s Board of Directors.

Led by Damia Tormo, founder and CEO, Artax Biopharma is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for autoimmune diseases. Its pipeline of drugs is based on novel science that targets the interaction between T-cell receptors (TCR) and Nck, a key protein involved in T-cell activation.

The company intends to use the funds to advance AX-024, a selective immunomodulator of T-cell Receptor (TCR) signaling in autoimmune T-cells, through Phase Ib and IIa clinical trials for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, and to further develop selective Nck inhibitors in partnership with Dr. Balbino Alarcon. Dr. Alarcon’s lab discovered Nck’s role in T-cell activation at the Spanish National Council (CSIC). Nck is a member of the SH2/SH3 family of cytoplasmic adapter proteins involved in transducing signals from receptor tyrosine kinases to downstream effectors, which play a key role in T-cell activation.

FinSMEs

22/09/2015

 

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