Participated · Series C · Jan 2022

Atom Bioscience's lead product, ABP-671, is an orally administered URAT1 inhibitor in clinical development for chronic gout; it has demonstrated strong Phase 2 efficacy across doses from 1–12 mg once daily. At 6–8 mg doses 100% of subjects achieved sUA <6 mg/dL, and at 12 mg 100% achieved sUA <4 mg/dL; efficacy was maintained up to 24 hours with once-daily dosing and no significant adverse effects versus placebo. ABP-671 was generally well tolerated with mostly grade 1 adverse events and a human mass-balance study showed the drug is largely excreted unchanged without metabolites similar to benzbromarone. The company plans global pivotal clinical trials for ABP-671 and intends to investigate use in refractory gout. A second small molecule, ABP-745, has shown efficacy in animal anti-inflammation models; Atom submitted a Pre-IND to the U.S. FDA in August and expects to file INDs in the U.S. and China in November. Financially, Atom completed a D-round of approximately $83 million and has now raised nearly $165 million to date to advance its pipeline. Atom Bioscience is a clinical-stage biotech developing best-in-class small-molecule therapeutics for inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Its lead candidate, ABP-671, is a URAT1 inhibitor being developed to treat hyperuricemia and chronic gout and is moving into a global Phase III trial. In a Phase IIa exploratory analysis, a low daily dose of ABP-671 enabled about 95% of patients to achieve serum uric acid (sUA) below 6 mg/dL, with many reaching 4–5 mg/dL; the drug has shown an attractive safety profile and activity at low doses. The company also has ABP-6016, a small molecule for NASH that has shown notable potency and an excellent safety profile in preclinical/early testing. Atom plans to use the Series C proceeds to support the ABP-671 Phase III and continued preclinical and clinical development of its pipeline. Financially, the company closed a $45 million Series C and has raised $87 million in total since its 2012 founding. Founded in March 2012 as a Sino‑US joint‑venture, Jiangsu Xinyuansu centers on discovery and development of innovative medicines. Its lead program is ABP‑601, a 1.1 class anti‑gout candidate now preparing and filing an IND in the United States. Preclinical data reportedly show ABP‑601 promotes uric acid excretion far superior to marketed drugs in animals while lacking liver, kidney, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular toxicities, and demonstrating strong developability. The company’s gout platform includes both uric‑acid‑excretion and uric‑acid‑production‑inhibition approaches. Other pipeline programs target breast cancer and NASH, with some candidates approaching preclinical or clinical research. Recently completed financing will support global clinical advancement of ABP‑601 and continued development of other pipeline assets.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2019

Elicio Therapeutics is an immuno-oncology vaccine developer working on precision vaccines, immune stimulants and cell therapies. The company announced it signed a subscription agreement with GKCC, LLC. That agreement is for a private placement described as a strategic investment. The private placement’s total proceeds are expected to be approximately $7 million before deduction of fees. The announcement was reported on December 25, 2023 by DoNews. No operating metrics or prior financings are detailed in the article. Elicio Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engineering Amphiphile (AMP) lymph node-targeted immunotherapies and vaccines. Its proprietary AMP platform delivers antigens and immunomodulators to lymph nodes by hitchhiking on albumin to amplify T cell responses. The company is developing a pipeline that includes ELI-002, a KRAS-targeting therapeutic vaccine currently dosing in Cohort 3 of a Phase 1/2 AMPLIFY-201 trial. GIRF awarded Elicio a $2.8 million grant to advance preclinical and translational research on two additional candidates, ELI-007 (BRAF V600E peptide vaccine) and ELI-008 (p53 hotspot mutation peptide vaccine). ELI-007 and ELI-008 are being pursued as multivalent cancer vaccines to target shared neoantigens across tumor types such as colorectal cancer, melanoma and NSCLC. The AMP platform originated at MIT and is being applied across cancers and infectious disease indications to promote durable tumor-specific immunity. Elicio Therapeutics develops immunotherapies that precisely target lymph nodes via its Amphiphile (AMP) platform to amplify anti-tumor and infectious-disease immune responses. Its lead program, ELI-002, is an AMP KRAS vaccine combining AMP-CpG adjuvant and AMP mKRAS peptides aimed at a broad spectrum of KRAS mutations. Proceeds from the financing will advance ELI-002 into clinical trials, with initial patient studies planned for the first quarter of 2021. The company describes a pipeline of IND-ready and preclinically validated AMP candidates across therapeutic vaccines, adjuvants, and cell-therapy activators. Elicio works with collaborators including MIT, the National Cancer Institute, Moffitt Cancer Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and QIMR Berghofer to advance its platform and expand commercial partnerships. The company positions its multi-targeted vaccine approach as differentiated from single-isoform small-molecule KRAS inhibitors. Elicio Therapeutics develops lymph node–targeted Amphiphile immunotherapies, including lead candidate ELI-002, an Amphiphile mKRAS vaccine designed to target seven KRAS mutations that drive the vast majority of mKRAS cancers. The company’s Amphiphile platform is intended to deliver immunogens and cell-therapy activators directly to the lymphatic system to amplify anti-tumor immune responses. ELI-002 has completed preclinical validation, IND‑enabling GLP toxicology studies, GMP manufacturing, and a pre‑IND meeting with the FDA. Elicio plans initial patient studies in pancreatic and colorectal cancer in the first half of 2020, with initial pancreatic patient data expected in the second half of 2020. The company is advancing a broader preclinical pipeline of lymph node–targeted immunotherapies.

Led · Series B · Jun 2015

Cynvenio Biosystems is a commercial-stage clinical diagnostics company that develops the LiquidBiopsy multi-template technology for molecular characterization of tumor cells from a standard blood draw. The platform delivers ultra-high sample purity and recovery enabling downstream molecular analysis by next-generation sequencing and PCR, and supports simultaneous analysis of ctcDNA, ctDNA, and germline DNA from a single blood sample. Cynvenio’s product suite includes automated instrumentation, consumables and reagents, patient sample kits, and bioinformatics. Its ClearID blood test is available from the company’s CLIA lab or clinical partners and is reimbursable in the United States. The company plans to use proceeds from the financing to advance clinical development and commercialization programs and to establish commercial and customer support infrastructure. Cynvenio is headquartered in Westlake Village, California (Los Angeles) and is establishing a China-based joint venture backed by an additional $10 million, bringing committed capital for this phase to $35.5 million.

Led · Series B · Apr 2014

Epirus Biopharmaceuticals is a Boston-based biopharmaceutical company developing biosimilar monoclonal antibodies, focused on global development and commercialization. Its pipeline includes BOW015 (a biosimilar to Remicade®), BOW050 (a biosimilar to Humira®) and BOW030 (a biosimilar to Avastin®). The company has reported positive Phase 1 and Phase 3 data for BOW015; the Phase 3 trial met its predefined endpoint and demonstrated comparable efficacy, safety and immunogenicity to Remicade® as measured by ACR20 in severe rheumatoid arthritis patients. Epirus closed a $36 million Series B financing to support commercialization and further clinical development of BOW015 and ongoing pipeline activities. The company plans to initiate an additional Phase 3 trial for BOW015 in Europe in early 2015. Epirus pursues a market-specific commercialization strategy—partnering with local companies in emerging markets, using its SCALE™ platform with local partners for in-market manufacturing in select high-growth markets, and combining direct sales with local distributors in established markets such as Europe.