The round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Pfizer Venture Investments, with participation from Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, HBM Healthcare Investments and existing investors including JAFCO Co., Ltd. (JAFCO). In conjunction with the funding, David Mott, NEA General Partner and head of NEA’s healthcare practice; Sara Nayeem, M.D., a Partner on NEA’s healthcare team; Barbara Dalton, Ph.D., Vice President of venture capital at Pfizer Venture Investments; and Gilles Nobécourt, a Partner at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, joined Complexa’s Board of Directors.
The company plans to use the funds to progress the clinical development program of its lead compound, CXA-10, in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), an orphan disease affecting the kidney, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a rare pulmonary disease, and advance a Phase 2 trial of oral CXA-10 as a differentiated disease-modifying treatment for PAH (a disease that leads to exercise intolerance, breathlessness, heart failure and death, with a mean survival of five to seven years), and a second compound toward an IND for a yet-to-be-disclosed indication
Led by Josh Tarnoff, President and Chief Executive Officer, Complexa is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improvind the treatment of fibrosis and inflammation-associated orphan diseases. The company is advancing CXA-10, an oral nitrated fatty acid compound that acts primarily by upregulation of Nrf2, a key anti-inflammatory molecule, and inhibition of NF-κB, a key inflammatory molecule.
The CXA-10 development program will include a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with FSGS, which is expected to start in early 2018.
The company leverages proprietary platform technology that involves the research and development of endogenous nitrated fatty acids (NFAs), a novel approach in an intensely active field of human biology. NFAs are key cell-signaling agents that regulate the body’s major fibrosis and inflammation pathways (e.g., Nrf2, NF-κB and Heat Shock Response). In the context of chronic diseases, with high degrees of oxidative stress and inflammation, levels of endogenous NFAs are insufficient to prevent disease progression. Complexa’s compounds increase NFA levels to restore NF-κB inhibition and effective Nrf2 activation, thus reducing damaging inflammation and promoting the repair of tissue injury and fibrosis.
FinSMEs
26/07/2017