Exonate, a Cambridge, UK-based early stage biotechnology company, received a £4.9m Seeding Drug Discovery award by the Wellcome Trust.
The company – which recently closed a £1.5m funding round from new and existing shareholders – will use the funds to continue development of an eye – drop treatment for wet age–related macular degeneration.
Led by Dr Catherine Beech, CEO, and Sunil Shah, Chairman, Exonate has developed small molecules that inhibit production of pro-angiogenic Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) through selective inhibition of Serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (SRPK1)-mediated VEGF splicing.
The company will take several of these inhibitors into an optimization program culminating in the nomination of a preclinical candidate drug with optimal characteristics for clinical development. The funded project will also involve the assessment of the candidate in regulatory toxicology and safety pharmacology studies to support an application to the regulatory authorities for clinical evaluation at the end of the funding.
Spun out of the University of Nottingham, Exonate expects to reach this milestone and enter the clinic in early 2020.
FinSMEs
06/02/2017