Attune Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a NYC-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel, orally-administered, small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases, closed a $23m Series B financing.
The round was led by Venrock Healthcare Partners joined by new investor LifeSci Venture Partners, and existing investors RTW Investments, RA Capital, Boxer Capital and Tang Capital. In conjunction with the financing, Rod Wong, M.D., managing partner at RTW Investments, has been appointed to Attune’s board of directors.
The company intends to use the funds to advance its pipeline, which includes the ongoing clinical development of ATN-249, a novel orally-administered plasma kallikrein inhibitor for the treatment of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE). HAE is a rare genetic condition that causes episodic, potentially life-threatening swellings that can affect any part of the body.
Led by Andrew McDonald, Ph.D., CEO, Attune is currently advancing two programs, one in Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) and a second in complement-mediated diseases.
Its ATN-249 is an oral, novel small molecule kallikrein inhibitor that was optimized for potency and pharmacokinetics. ATN-249 has been tested in phase 1 studies, where 249 achieved high blood levels and was shown to be safe and well-tolerated. In the phase 1 study, ATN-249 was shown to inhibit plasma kallikrein in vivo at levels that are expected to result in inhibition of HAE episodes.
FinSMEs
24/01/2019