Martinsried-based start-up SciRhom has raised €63 million in a Series A financing round to advance its iRhom2-targeted antibody therapies against autoimmune diseases. The financing round was led by Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, MIG Capital and Wellington Partners, with participation from Bayern Kapital and existing investors such as High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and PhiFund Ventures.
Founded in 2016, Martinsried-based SciRhom GmbH is developing novel antibody therapies to inhibit pro-inflammatory signaling pathways and thus a new approach for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and potentially other indications. By selectively targeting TACE/ADAM17 via iRhom2, the SciRhom antibodies simultaneously block several established signaling pathways that are currently targeted individually by drugs approved for autoimmune diseases, including TNF-alpha and IL-6R. Other essential functions of the TACE/ADAM17 signaling pathway are preserved.
Simultaneously targeting multiple cytokines while promoting immune tolerance by restoring beneficial TNFR2 signaling and proliferating regulatory T cells could make a critical difference for patients with various autoimmune diseases.
The first clinical trial with SciRhom's lead development candidate SR-878 is expected to start in the second half of 2024.
The current lead indications within the company's development pipeline are rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and lupus nephritis.
In connection with the investment, Dr. Olivier Litzka of Andera Partners, Dr. Peter Neubeck of Kurma Partners, Dr. Georgina Askeland of Hadean Ventures, Dr. Fei Tian of MIG Capital and Dr. Varun Gupta of Wellington Partners will join SciRhom's board of directors.