Israeli drug discovery cancer metabolism company Metabomed has completed a $12.5 million financing round led by Yonjin Venture, and with the participation of all its existing investors: M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Pontifax Venture Fund, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Arkin Bio Ventures. This brings to $30 million the amount raised by the company to date.
Metabomed also announced that it has declared a clinical candidate for its first-in-class program targeting the inhibition of the AcetylCoA Short chain Synthase 2 enzyme (ACSS2) in cancers dependent on acetate metabolism.
The proceeds of the round will be used to move Metabomed’s clinical candidate for its ACSS2 program towards IND approval by the end of 2020. The funds will also strengthen the company's internal pipeline to further develop lead compounds for Metabomed's other programs that modulate targets forming synthetic lethal pairs in cancers characterized by metabolic vulnerabilities such as MTAP deficiency, NRF2 addiction and a defective TCA cycle.
Metabomed cofounder and CEO Dr. Simone Botti said, "We are excited by the progress across all of our programs, but especially by the opportunity to move forward our first-in-class ACSS2 inhibitors closer to the clinic. We hope to be able to show soon that our approach to targeting synthetic lethal metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer will prove itself in the clinic in pathologies like triple negative breast cancer where the current standard of care does not offer effective therapies to many patients"
Metabomed chairman Prof. David Aviezer added, "With this financing round, Metabomed is well positioned to rapidly advance towards clinical trials with its lead compound and to further strengthen its promising pipeline".
Yonjin Venture managing director Dr. Daguang Wang said, "We are delighted to be part of Metabomed, a leader in the cancer metabolism space. We look forward to working with the company and its board of directors."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 19, 2019
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