Lunac Therapeutics Secures £2.65M Series A Funding to Advance Next-Generation Anticoagulants with Minimal Bleeding Risk

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on November 14, 2019, local time, the UK-based drug development company Lunac Therapeutics completed a £2.65 million Series A financing round, led by Epidarex Capital and the University of Leeds.

Lunac Therapeutics, founded in April 2018, is a drug development company headquartered in Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The company was established by Professor Helen Philippou and Dr. Richard Foster based on their decade-long academic research into Factor XII, which was supported by the Wellcome Trust, the British Heart Foundation, and the Medical Research Council.

As a spin-off from the University of Leeds, Lunac Therapeutics aims to activate Factor XII to identify and develop next-generation advanced anticoagulants with minimal bleeding risk, thereby overcoming the limitations of current therapies that are associated with hemorrhagic complications. The company posits that while existing treatments carry a risk of bleeding, targeting Factor XII within the coagulation cascade can mitigate this risk. Factor XII is implicated in pathological thrombosis but not in hemostasis. Furthermore, unlike patients deficient in other coagulation factors, individuals lacking Factor XII do not exhibit bleeding symptoms.

Professor Helen Philippou, founder of Lunac Therapeutics, stated, “There is an urgent need for anticoagulant therapies that reduce the risk of bleeding. Our research has demonstrated that targeting activated factor XII can lead to the development of differentiated therapies and provide new treatment options for patients.”

Dr. Mary Canning of Epidarex Capital added, “Lunac Therapeutics is taking a unique approach to identifying novel anticoagulants, and we are impressed by the progress of the University of Leeds’ Factor XII program. This investment builds on Epidarex’s track record of funding innovative spin-outs from leading research universities in the UK and the US.”

Andy Duley, Commercial Director at the University of Leeds, stated: “We are delighted to partner with Epidarex Capital on this significant financing round to maximize the University’s research potential in the field of anticoagulation and to build upon a decade of academic research into Factor XII.”

Epidarex Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in the United Kingdom. The company primarily invests in early-stage, high-growth life sciences and health technology companies. Its international team is led by Sinclair Dunlop, Kyp Sirinakis, and Liz Roper. With offices in the United States and the United Kingdom, Epidarex Capital’s investors include top-tier universities, multinational corporations, development agencies, and financial institutions.

The University of Leeds, established in 1904, is a premier institution in the United Kingdom. It is also ranked among the world’s top 100 universities, a founding member of the UK’s Russell Group (often referred to as the British Ivy League), one of the six renowned “Red Brick” universities, and a member of the Worldwide Universities Network, the White Rose University Consortium, and the N8 Research Partnership. The University of Leeds enjoys a distinguished international reputation for its excellence in teaching, research, and graduate employability.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)