DermBiont is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing targeted topical therapeutics to treat dermatological indications. Its lead pipeline comprises SM-020, a topical AKT kinase inhibitor for seborrheic keratoses (SKs), and SM-030, a topical PKC-beta inhibitor for melasma and other hyperpigmentation disorders. The company reported successful Phase 2 proof-of-concept results: SM-030 gel 0.64% achieved greater efficacy than 4% hydroquinone, and SM-020 gel 1.0% twice daily produced responses in over 80% of SKs with complete clearance of over 50% of lesions in the most effective regimen. Proceeds from the Series B financing will be used to advance the clinical development of SM-020 and SM-030 and are expected to fund the company through the end of its Phase 2 meetings with the U.S. FDA, anticipated in the second half of 2024. Planned clinical activity in the next 12 months includes a Phase 2b randomized, double-blind vehicle-controlled SK trial in 60 subjects, a Phase 2b open-label DPN trial in 10 subjects, a Phase 2 open-label extension in 25 subjects, and a Phase 2b observer-blinded, placebo-controlled melasma trial in 138 subjects. The company aims to commercialize first-in-class topical therapies that address the root causes of common skin diseases and will use the new capital to accelerate those programs. DermBiont is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted topical therapeutics that address the root causes of skin diseases. The company also pursues biotherapeutics to repair microbiome imbalances, leveraging computational biology and a proprietary bioinformatics platform to identify clinically meaningful dysbiosis. DermBiont acquired Chromaderm and its clinical-stage topical PKC-beta inhibitor ruboxistaurin (SM-030) to expand its pipeline for disorders of excess melanin production. A Phase 1 topical trial under a U.S. IND demonstrated that SM-030 can inhibit UV-induced melanin production, and oral ruboxistaurin has prior Phase 1–3 clinical data showing an excellent safety profile. DermBiont plans to start Phase 2 clinical trials of the topical formulation early in 2022 and recently appointed Dr. Emma Taylor as Chief Medical Officer. The company raised $28 million in a Series A2 financing in parallel with the Chromaderm acquisition. Jeni Lee of Pivotal Life Sciences joined DermBiont’s board as part of the transaction. DermBiont is a Boston, MA-based clinical-stage therapeutics company focused on discovering and developing live bacterial products to treat skin diseases. Its lead product, DBI-001, is a live bacterial candidate in clinical trials for fungal skin infections, including interdigital athlete’s foot, moccasin athlete’s foot, and onychomycosis. The company also maintains a discovery platform built on a library of over 5,000 microbes isolated from human skin and a large NextGen sequencing dataset across healthy and diseased skin. Co-founded in 2017 by Karl Beutner, M.D., Ph.D., Robert Brucker, Ph.D., and Nichola Eliovits, DermBiont was incubated and funded by Olive Tree Capital before joining the 7th cohort of the Illumina Accelerator program in mid-2018. It closed an $8M Series A to support ongoing clinical trials and discovery efforts. The financing will advance its lead program and sustain discovery work leveraging its microbial library and sequencing data.

Total raised

$71M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Oct 2023