DermBiont, a Boston, MA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted topical therapeutics that address the root causes of skin diseases, raised $28m in Series A2 financing.
Backers included Pivotal Life Sciences (lead), Viking Global Investors, Olive Tree Capital, Toba Capital, Civilization Ventures, and other biotechnology investors. As part of the transaction, Jeni Lee, Principal at Pivotal Life Sciences, joins DermBiont’s Board of Directors.
In parallel, the company acquired clinical-stage biotechnology company Chromaderm, which is developing a topical inhibitor of melanin production as a first-in-class therapy for skin brightening, melasma, and other skin diseases associated with increased melanin production.
Chromaderm’s drug candidate, ruboxistaurin (SM-030), is an inhibitor of PKC-beta, which Chromaderm’s co-founder Dr. Barbara Gilchrest demonstrated is required for melanin production. A completed Phase 1 clinical trial under a US IND demonstrated that a topical formulation of SM-030 is able to inhibit UV-induced melanin production. An oral formulation of ruboxistaurin has been evaluated in Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials in unrelated indications and demonstrated an excellent safety profile. Excess melanin production is the root cause of a number of common skin diseases including melasma, solar lentigos (sunspots), and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The company is led by Mark de Souza, co-founder, President, and CEO.
Led by Dr. Karl Beutner, co-founder and CEO, and Dr. Emma Taylor, Chief Medical Officer, DermBiont is a precision dermatology company developing targeted topical therapeutics that treat, cure, and prevent diseases. The company aims to impact the root causes of skin diseases through the development of targeted small molecule therapeutics with well-defined mechanisms of action as well as with biotherapeutics that repair an imbalance of the microbiome.
FinSMEs
21/12/2021