Artax Biopharma Secures B-1 Financing to Advance Oral Small Molecule AX-158 into Clinical Trials

On June 8, 2020, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that Artax Biopharma announced on June 4 (local time) the completion of a supplemental Series B financing round, led by Columbus Venture Partners.

It is reported that since its establishment in 2013, Artax Biopharma has raised approximately $14 million in equity financing, having completed seed, Series A, and Series B funding rounds in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019, respectively.

(Source: Crunchbase company financing information)

The financing will support the Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for Artax Biopharma’s exclusive product, AX-158. Artax plans to submit the CTA for AX-158 to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Artax CEO Joseph Lobacki stated: “We are thrilled to secure investment from Columbus Venture Partners, a testament to our scientific prowess in addressing autoimmune diseases without triggering immunosuppression."Javier García, Founding Partner of Columbus Venture Partners, stated:"We are pleased to facilitate this follow-on financing, as we believe that Artax Biopharma’s experienced leadership team is well-positioned to evolve into a truly innovative medical enterprise.”

A healthy immune system can tolerate self-tissues and organs while eliminating harmful exogenous pathogens. When the immune system malfunctions, T cells attack self-tissues and organs, leading to autoimmune diseases. Current therapies for autoimmune diseases reduce damage to self-tissues and organs by suppressing the immune system, but this also increases susceptibility to harmful exogenous pathogens. Therefore, immunomodulatory therapy, which modulates the immune system to reduce autoimmunity while maintaining an appropriate response against exogenous pathogens, represents a promising therapeutic approach for autoimmune diseases.

AX-158 is a first-in-class, oral small-molecule novel drug candidate for the preclinical treatment of autoimmune diseases as an immunomodulatory agent. Leveraging a novel mechanism of action, AX-158 selectively modulates or adjusts T-cell responses that play a critical role in immune system function. By selectively inhibiting the Nck protein, AX-158 can specifically regulate aberrant T-cell activation, which drives autoimmune pathology. Notably, research data indicate that AX-158 does not exhibit immunosuppressive effects and does not impair the immune system’s robust response to exogenous pathogens and infectious agents. Overall, AX-158 modulates T-cell responses, enabling its potential application across a broad spectrum of autoimmune diseases, thereby representing a highly promising and translatable therapeutic approach for autoimmune conditions.

Artax Biopharma, Inc. is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company is dedicated to revolutionizing new therapies for autoimmune diseases. As a leader in the life sciences industry within the field of immunomodulatory science for autoimmune disorders, Artax primarily develops novel small-molecule drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. These agents modulate the immune system to not only treat autoimmune conditions but also enable appropriate responses to exogenous pathogens. The company is currently testing a novel oral immunomodulatory agent designed to treat various autoimmune diseases, thereby avoiding the immunosuppressive side effects associated with current therapies for these conditions.

Columbus Venture Partners is an independent Spanish venture capital firm primarily focused on early-stage investment opportunities in the life sciences industry. The firm comprises experts with backgrounds in science, medicine, and business development, who leverage their extensive experience in founding and investing in companies to accelerate commercialization.

(Compiled by: Tang Qiao)