BioIntervene Secures $30 Million Series A Funding to Advance Non-Addictive Neuropathic Pain Drug BIO-205 into Clinical Trials

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from Xconomy that on January 6, 2020, U.S. drug development company BioIntervene announced the completion of a $30 million Series A financing round and the appointment of Dr. Charles Cohen as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). The round was led by Boston-based healthcare investment firm MPM Capital.

BioIntervene, a biotechnology company engaged in drug development, was founded in 2014 by Dr. Daniela Salvemini, Professor and Interim Chair of Pharmacology and Physiology at Saint Louis University. Headquartered in California, USA, BioIntervene is dedicated to developing effective, non-addictive therapeutics for chronic pain and other chronic inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

Currently, the company’s flagship product is BIO-205, a neuropathic pain medication based on an A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonist. It binds to and activates the A3 receptor to restore signal transduction, demonstrating significant efficacy in the treatment of neuropathic pain while being non-addictive.

Neuropathic pain is a complex chronic condition in which the peripheral nerves and certain areas of the brain are damaged by injury, disease, or toxins at onset. Common causes of neuropathic pain include nerve damage following surgery or trauma, herpes zoster infection (shingles), cancer and cancer chemotherapy drugs, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Approximately one-third of Americans suffer from chronic pain, and one-fifth of them have neuropathic pain. One study estimates that up to 10% of Americans have experienced some form of neuropathic pain.

Upon completion of this financing round, BioIntervene plans to utilize the proceeds to advance its lead product, BIO-205, into clinical trials, with the aim of achieving improved therapeutic outcomes for neuropathic pain.

Ed Hurwitz, Managing Director at MPM Capital, pointed out: “There is a need for alternatives to morphine and other opioids, as they are not very effective in treating neuropathic pain, which can lead to overdose and addiction. In our experiments, we saw compelling data for BIO-205, indicating that it may be more effective and safer than morphine and gabapentin. Therefore, we decided to invest in BioIntervene.”

Charles Cohen holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics and Theoretical Biology from the University of Chicago and has held positions at Xen Pharmaceuticals, Vertex, Merck, and Bayer.

Ed Hurwitz, Executive Chairman of BioIntervene, welcomed Charles Cohen’s appointment: “We are delighted to have Cohen join us. He is exceptionally well-suited to lead our research initiatives. As a highly accomplished neuroscientist with extensive experience in pain research, his expertise is invaluable to our strategy of developing novel therapeutics targeting the adenosine A3 receptor.”

Previously, BioIntervene completed a financing round of approximately $3 million on March 12, 2019; other specific details remain undisclosed.

MPM Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to providing seed, early-stage, and late-stage financing to the healthcare industry. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MPM Capital’s team comprises industry experts who conduct sector-specific due diligence on investment targets and actively participate in value creation and enhancement initiatives for portfolio companies. The firm believes that senior leadership teams can generate greater value in healthcare investments. MPM executives continue to serve in interim operational roles within portfolio companies, whether by helping to establish new ventures, filling short-term management gaps, or collaborating with management teams to prepare for key value-creation activities, striving to ensure the success of these companies.

(Compiled by Yang Xiaohui)