The Martinsried-based company SciRhom was able to increase its seed capital to a total of EUR 16 million in another seed financing round. This support is expected to help reach the next development milestones of the novel antibody therapy against autoimmune diseases.
Martinsried-based SciRhom GmbH is developing novel antibody therapies to inhibit pro-inflammatory signaling pathways. The new seed financing will increase the biotechnology company's seed capital by an additional 8 million euros.
With this additional investment from existing shareholders and a selected group of investors from Europe and the U.S., the company has secured a total of 16 million euros to reach the next development milestones of its first-in-class drug candidates.
iRhom2 antibody
SciRhom's first-in-class drug candidates inhibit iRhom2 (inactive rhomboid 2, RHBDF2) and thus the functions of its binding partner, the cell surface protease TACE (TNF-alpha converting enzyme or ADAM17). As a result, they simultaneously block multiple pro-inflammatory signal transduction pathways.
TACE was early considered a promising therapeutic target for autoimmune diseases. However, earlier attempts by pharmaceutical companies to block TACE failed due to side effects in the clinic. Inhibition of iRhom2, however, avoids these side effects and promises to significantly improve on current therapies for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jens Ruhe highlights the expediting effect of the recent financial injection. “As a young company translating more than a decade of rigorous research into a therapy that can make a profound difference in the lives of patients, we work with urgency and zeal. The support of our investors enables us to expand the pre-clinical efficacy and safety evidence. We can now accelerate our antibody development towards the next value inflection point – IND submission.”
SciRhom GmbH
SciRhom GmbH, based in IZB Martinsried, Germany, is a biotech company that translates science into the preclinical and early clinical development of novel biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of life-threatening autoimmune diseases. Based on longstanding academic research and a well-established network of experts, SciRhom was founded in 2016 through a collaboration between academic and industry scientists.