Pathios Therapeutics Secures $8.8M Series A Financing to Advance Novel Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases and Cancer

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on December 18, 2019, U.S. biotechnology company Pathios Therapeutics (“Pathios”) announced the completion of an $8.8 million Series A financing round. The round was jointly invested by Canaan Partners, a leading international healthcare investor, and the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF), managed by Brandon Capital.

Meanwhile, Pathios announced the appointment of Stuart Hughes, a former senior executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, as its Chief Executive Officer. Stuart Hughes has led a series of drug R&D projects and possesses extensive experience in drug discovery and development.

Pathios, founded in 2017, is an early-stage drug discovery company. The company is dedicated to developing therapies for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Pathios is currently engaged in a drug discovery program to identify novel small-molecule modulators of GPR65, which are expected to have therapeutic utility in a range of autoimmune diseases as well as certain cancers.

A hallmark of many tumor microenvironments is abnormal pH levels in patient cells. Pathios Therapeutics is developing drugs designed to detect changes in cancer cell pH as the disease progresses in cancer patients. GPR65 serves as a key mediator in these mechanisms, eliciting robust responses in both adaptive and innate immune cells.

Furthermore, studies have shown that GPR65 can also play a positive role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.

Stuart Hughes stated, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Pathios Therapeutics at such an exciting juncture in the company’s history. Pathios has laid a solid foundation for unlocking the therapeutic potential of GPR65 in the immune system. I am also pleased to see Pathios backed by such outstanding investors, which will motivate us to accelerate our drug development efforts.”

Chris Nave, Partner at Brandon Capital, stated, “Pathios is capable of delivering best-in-class therapeutics by modulating novel small molecules in pathological low-pH environments. Having been one of the early investors in Spinifex, we are delighted to collaborate once again with Tom, the founder of Pathios. We are also pleased to see that our investment has facilitated the ongoing collaboration between Pathios and Dr. Jess Holien from the St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI) in Melbourne.”

Canaan Partner Brent Ahrens added, “This marks Canaan’s third time supporting Tom. Stuart, as a seasoned expert in the field of drug discovery, will inject new vitality into Pathios. The team is poised to develop best-in-class therapies for autoimmune diseases and immuno-oncology. We are delighted to support this outstanding team in realizing their vision.”

Canaan Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm managing $500 million in capital. Over the past 30 years, Canaan Partners has invested in many visionary entrepreneurs as well as world-leading technology and healthcare companies. Canaan Partners’ key investment areas include fintech, marketplaces, frontier technologies, biopharmaceuticals, digital health, and medical technology.

The Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) provides dedicated investment funds to support early-stage medical research at its member institutions. MRCF’s investments in its partners are designed to promote best practices in the commercialization of healthcare innovations.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)