25/06/2018

NodThera secures £28 million ($40 million) Series A Financing

Park Occupier, NodThera, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of next generation NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors for the treatment of diseases driven by chronic inflammation, today announces it has closed its Series A financing round for a total of £28 million ($40 million). The Series A second closing was co-led by leading healthcare investors Sofinnova Partners and 5AM Ventures, with further participation from Epidarex Capital and F-Prime Capital Partners. NodThera was created and seed funded by life science investor, Epidarex Capital in 2016 based on earlier research conducted at Selvita, a Polish drug discovery company which remains a shareholder in NodThera. Henrijette Richter, PhD, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners and Scott Rocklage, PhD, Founding Partner of 5AM Ventures will both join the Board of Directors with Henrijette Richter additionally serving as Chair.

Alan Watt PhD MBA, Chief Scientific Officer and acting Chief Executive Officer, said: “Selective NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition represents one of the most exciting and promising approaches to treating diseases caused by chronic inflammation. We believe this approach has the potential to transform the treatment of patients suffering from these diseases where there are limited or no treatment options available. NodThera is committed to discovering and developing first-in-class molecules in our core disease areas, and working with the best partners in this space to address other chronic inflammation driven therapeutic areas. Together with our highly experienced management team, a strong scientific advisory board and the support of our international blue-chip investors, we are fully equipped to achieve our future goals.”

NodThera is developing small molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 inflammasome, a multi-protein complex which initiates an innate immune response in the body. NodThera’s next generation approach could bring new treatment options to patients in areas where current standard of care is sub-optimal or non-existent across a wide range of therapeutic areas related to chronic inflammation. The NodThera strategy is to develop its leading drug candidate through to proof-of-concept in humans in an inflammatory disease and to bring forward further drug candidates specifically addressing high unmet medical needs such as neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers. NodThera’s team combines a deep understanding of NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition with extensive pharmaceutical experience of drug discovery and development and is supported by a world-class team of scientific advisors.