Biopharmaceutical Company Annexon Biosciences Closes $44M Series B Funding

AnnexonAnnexon Biosciences, a South San Francisco, CA-based biopharmaceutical company developing classical complement pathway inhibitors to treat neurodegenerative disorders, closed $44m Series B financing round.

The round was led by new investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from Correlation Ventures and existing investors Novartis Venture Fund, Clarus, and Satter Investment Management, LLC. In conjunction with the financing, Frank Torti, M.D., a Partner at NEA, joined Annexon’s Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to advance lead drug programs, including monoclonal antibodies ANX005 for serious central nervous system (CNS) and autoimmune disorders, and ANX007 for ophthalmic disorders.

Co-founded by Ben Barres, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Arnon Rosenthal, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Alector, and Co-founder, former President and Chief Scientific Officer of Rinat Neurosciences, and led by Doug Love, Esq., Chief Executive Officer and President, Annexon is developing a pipeline of classical complement pathway inhibitors focused on therapies for complement-mediated loss of nerve connections in the brain, as occurs in Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease, as well as in retinal cells, as seen in glaucoma.
The company’s lead therapeutic candidates, the monoclonal antibodies ANX005 for serious central nervous system (CNS) and autoimmune disorders, and ANX007 for ophthalmic disorders, inhibit a protein called C1q, the initiating molecule of the classical pathway, and block complement activation involved in neurodegeneration.

FinSMEs

23/06/2016

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