Funding raised to advance clinical development of lead gout program, expand company’s pipeline and scale genome-recoded biology platform
BOSTON, July 19, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GRO Biosciences Inc. (“GRObio”), a biotechnology company leveraging synthetic biology to expand the amino acid alphabet and realize the potential of protein therapeutics, today announced it has closed an oversubscribed $60.3 million Series B financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Company’s lead program for the treatment of refractory gout into the clinic, expand the GRObio pipeline, and extend its Genome Recoded Organism (GRO) platform for scalable production of therapeutics incorporating multiple non-standard amino acids (NSAA).
The Series B funding brings GRObio’s total capital raised to more than $90 million and was co-led by new investors Atlas Venture and Access Biotechnology, with participation from prior investors including Leaps by Bayer, Redmile Group, Digitalis Ventures and Innovation Endeavors. In connection with the financing, Kevin Bitterman, PhD, Partner at Atlas Venture, and Dan Becker, MD, Managing Director at Access Biotechnology, have joined the company’s board of directors.
GRObio’s lead program, ProGly-Uricase, is being developed for the treatment of severe and refractory gout, a form of arthritis in which excess accumulation of uric acid causes debilitating inflammation in the joints. The only treatment available for patients who do not respond to first-line treatments is the enzyme uricase, which breaks down uric acid crystal deposits and lowers circulating uric acid levels. However, most patients receiving uricase therapy rapidly develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) that remove the enzyme from circulation, compromising safety and efficacy and leaving patients with no treatment options.
ProGly-Uricase is a proprietary uricase enzyme incorporating the Company’s ProGly NSAA that prevents the development of ADA and enables patients with severe, refractory gout to effectively control serum uric acid levels over the long term. The Series B funding will enable the Company to rapidly demonstrate proof of concept for ProGly-Uricase in clinical trials in subjects with high uric acid levels.
ProGly NSAA contains sugar molecules called glycans that precisely control the immune response to proteins. The glycans in ProGly NSAA educate the immune system to recognize the underlying therapeutic as a “self” protein rather than a foreign protein, thus preventing an immune response. This technology can be readily extended to a range of immunogenic therapeutics beyond uricase. ProGly therapeutics are also being developed to treat and prevent autoimmune diseases without broadly suppressing the immune system by conferring highly specific tolerance to disease-causing self-antigens.
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“We are excited to partner with new investors Atlas Ventures and Access Biotechnology. Their participation complements the continued support of our existing investors,” said Dan Mandel, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of GRObio. “Having proven our therapeutic approach preclinically and demonstrated the scalability of our GRO platform, we have assembled the ideal team to advance GRObio into a clinical-stage company. This financing will enable us to obtain valuable clinical efficacy data for gout while also expanding our platform to demonstrate the first-ever scalable production of a protein containing multiple NSAAs, including simultaneous incorporation of drug, immune recruitment and tissue targeting payloads.”
Dr. Kevin Bitterman, Partner at Atlas Ventures, commented, “GRObio has built an industry-leading platform in the discovery and manufacturing of therapeutics using non-standard amino acids. The Company has a clear and differentiated path to multiple commercial opportunities, starting with the urgent unmet need in severe and intractable gout. Atlas Ventures is excited to partner with this outstanding team to bring this innovative technology into the clinic.”
Dan Becker, MD, Managing Director of Access Biotechnology, added, “GRObio’s ProGly program offers a novel solution for patients with few viable treatment options. By partnering with GRObio, we expect to significantly improve the quality of life for patients in need of treatment across all indications available on the GRO platform.”
About GRO Biosciences
GRO Biosciences (“GRObio”) is leveraging breakthrough science to expand the amino acid alphabet and realize the potential of protein therapeutics. The company is transforming treatments across a range of areas, including autoimmune and metabolic diseases, to improve patients’ lives. GRObio is applying its platform to advance a pipeline of protein therapeutics with unique non-standard amino acid (NSAA) chemical structures, as well as partnered and collaborative programs. The company’s NSAA therapeutics possess previously unrealized capabilities, including precise control of the immune system and unprecedented duration of action. GRObio is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Find GRObio on LinkedIn twitterInstagram, Facebook and on the web at grobio.com.
About Atlas Ventures
Atlas Venture is a leading biotechnology venture capital firm. Driven by our goal of doing well by doing good, we have been nurturing breakthrough biotechnology startups for over 25 years. We partner with brilliant scientists and entrepreneurs to translate high-impact science into medicines for patients. Our seed-led venture creation strategy selectively focuses investments on the most compelling opportunities to build scalable businesses and realize value. For more information, please visit www.atlasventure.com.
About Access Biotechnology
Access Biotechnology is the biopharmaceutical investment arm of Access Industries, a US-based private holding and investment company. Access invests in private and public companies developing innovative therapies for diseases with high unmet need across therapeutic areas, modalities and stages of development, from discovery stage technology platforms to late-stage clinical programs. For more information, please visit www.accessindustries.com/biotechnology/.
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