AI-Powered Drug Discovery Company X-37 Secures $14.5M Series A Funding to Expand Pipeline and Advance Lead Candidates Toward Clinical Trials

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned via Business Wire that on November 14, 2019 (local time), U.S. AI-driven drug discovery company X-37 announced the completion of a $14.5 million Series A financing round. The round was led by DCVC Bio, with participation from Alpha Intelligence Capital and Hemi Ventures.

Following the completion of this round of financing, Kiersten Stead and Antoine Blondeau of Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC) will join the board of directors of X-37.

This round of financing will be used to expand the number of drug development programs at X-37 and advance identified drug leads through laboratory and preclinical testing, with the goal of initiating human clinical trials by 2022. X-37’s development pipeline includes novel therapies targeting key drug targets to address unmet clinical needs. Specific therapeutic candidates include ZAP-70 for autoimmune diseases, PIM3 and SHP2 for cancer, and Factor XIIa for anticoagulation.

X-37 was co-founded by experienced drug developers from Atomwise and Velocity Pharmaceutical Development. In addition to the aforementioned development programs, the X-37 team will identify other high-value drug targets. Leveraging Atomwise’s world-class AI platform for structure-based drug design, the team aims to advance these drug projects to key medical milestones, at which point the AI platform-enabled assets can be acquired by or partnered with large pharmaceutical companies for commercialization.

X-37, LLC adopts a limited liability company structure that allows each drug development program to be housed within an independent virtual subsidiary under the parent company. This structure offers tax efficiency and flexibility, as it enables X-37 to spin off individual drug development programs while retaining the parent company and its team. Since commencing operations in 2018, X-37 has developed novel hit molecules targeting several high-profile indications in the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. David Collier, CEO and Co-Founder of X-37, stated, “We are excited about the progress achieved to date and look forward to advancing a pipeline of significant novel drug candidates into development. With this funding, we are well-positioned to propel multiple R&D projects forward. Our investors have been instrumental in the establishment of X-37, and we look forward to close collaboration with them.”

Abraham Heifets, CEO and Founder of Atomwise, stated, “X-37 represents an opportunity to rapidly bring new drugs to market to address challenging targets that have repeatedly proven difficult and are in urgent need of improved therapeutic options. We are excited to collaborate with industry veterans who bring 25 years of experience.”

Kiersten Stead of DCVC Bio stated, “We are pleased to be an investor in X-37. We are excited to see that Atomwise has refined its deep neural networks and chemical expertise. We believe Velocity Pharmaceuticals’ drug development team is an ideal partner for Atomwise, given their extensive experience in target selection and development of drug leads. Both companies have demonstrated exceptional performance with X-37.”

DCVC Bio, established in 2018 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA, is a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage computational biology startups. The firm focuses on investing in companies capable of driving profound technological transformations in synthetic biology, medicine, and agriculture, thereby reshaping existing life science technologies and accelerating the development of new innovations.

Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), founded in 2018 and headquartered in Luxembourg, is a global venture capital fund primarily investing in advanced companies leveraging AI technologies.

Hemi Ventures, established in 2016, is a U.S.-based global venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups in autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence applications, biotechnology, and other emerging technology sectors.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)