Solu Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based precision-medicine company developing therapeutics to eliminate disease-driving cells, closed a $31m seed financing.
The round was co-led by Longwood Fund, and Santé Ventures, with participation from DCVC Bio, Astellas Venture Management, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
The company intends to use the funds to develop the proprietary CyTaC (Cytotoxicity Targeting Chimera) platform and drug candidates which were in-licensed from GSK. In return for the license, GSK received equity in Solu and will receive milestones and royalties on products derived from the CyTaC platform.
Led by David Donabedian, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO, Solu Therapeutics is a precision-medicine company developing therapeutics to eliminate disease-driving cells in cancer, immunology, and autoimmunity. The proprietary CyTaC (Cytotoxicity Targeting Chimera) platform and drug candidates, licensed from GSK, unlocks antibody-intractable cell surface targets providing the capability to develop next generation medicines that harness the power of biologics with the vast target binding space of small molecules. Characteristics of CyTaC platform molecules include: (i) unlocking new tumor-associated antigens to eliminate cancer cells, (ii) depleting pathogenic immune cells, and (iii) extending the half-life of small molecule antagonists and agonists.
As part of the financing, Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Executive Chairman, Solu Therapeutics, and Founding Partner, Longwood Fund; Omar Khalil, Partner, Santé Ventures; John Hamer, Ph.D., Managing Director, DCVC Bio; Satoshi Konagai, Astellas Venture Management; and Peter Hutt have joined Solu Therapeutics’ Board of Directors.
FinSMEs
01/08/2023