Opna Bio, an Epalinges, Switzerland and San Francisco, CA-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, raised $38M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Longitude Capital and Northpond Ventures, with participation from Menlo Ventures.
The company intends to use the funds to develop novel fragile-X mental retardation protein (FMRP) inhibitors in oncology as well as a diverse portfolio of clinical and preclinical oncology programs acquired from Plexxikon Inc.
Co-founded by Gideon Bollag, PhD, who was appointed chief executive officer; Douglas Hanahan, PhD, distinguished scholar in the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and emeritus professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL); and Joseph Schlessinger, PhD, professor of pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine, Opna Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of oncology therapeutics. Its broad portfolio targets multiple drivers of cancer, including an oncology discovery program focused on the fragile-X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and a diversified pipeline of validated oncology assets acquired from Plexxikon. In addition to its discovery-stage FMRP program, Its clinical compound, OPN-2853, a bromo and extra terminal (BET) domain inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial with ruxolitinib (Jakafi®) in myelofibrosis, a chronic bone marrow disorder. The company also expects to initiate a Phase 2 study with OPN-7486, a colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) receptor inhibitor, in 2023.
As part of Opna’s formation, the company acquired a portfolio of small molecule oncology therapeutics from Plexxikon Inc.
The clinical-stage assets include:
- OPN-2853 (formerly PLX2853), a potential best-in-class bromo and extra terminal (BET) domain inhibitor currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with ruxolitinib (Jakafi®) for myelofibrosis, a rare myeloid cancer
- OPN-7486 (formerly PLX7486), a colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) receptor inhibitor expected to begin a Phase 2 study in 2023
Pre-clinical programs include:
- E1A binding protein (EP300) inhibitor
- Cluster of differentiation 73 (CD73) inhibitor
- Transcriptional enhanced associated domain (TEAD) inhibitor
The Opna Board of Directors includes:
- Joseph Schlessinger, PhD, chairman of the board, professor of pharmacology at Yale University, current and previous strategic affiliations with Sugen, Plexxikon, Kolltan and Inozyme
- Gideon Bollag, PhD, chief executive officer, former CEO of Plexxikon and founding member of Onyx Pharmaceuticals
- Patrick Enright, managing director, Longitude Capital
- Shaan C. Gandhi, MD, DPhil, director, Northpond Ventures
- Douglas Hanahan, PhD, distinguished scholar, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and emeritus professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
- Brian Pusch, JD, chairman and CEO, Microbes, co-founder of Inozyme Pharma
The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) includes:
- Douglas Hanahan, PhD, chairman of the SAB, distinguished scholar, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and emeritus professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
- Benjamin Cravatt, PhD, professor, Scripps Research Institute; co-founder of Activx Biosciences, Abide Therapeutics and Vividion Therapeutics
- Robert Darnell, MD, PhD, professor and senior physician at Rockefeller University
- Frank McCormick, PhD, professor and chair of tumor biology and cancer research, UCSF Cancer Center; current and previous strategic affiliations with Chiron, Onyx, BridgeBio, Olema, Avidity
- Joseph Schlessinger, PhD, professor of pharmacology at Yale University, current and previous strategic affiliations with Sugen, Plexxikon, Kolltan and Inozyme
- Berta Strulovici, PhD, former director of The Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine at Weizmann Institute of Science, iPierian, Merck & Co
FinSMEs
22/11/2022