Landos Biopharma Secures $60 Million Series B Financing to Advance Global Phase 2 Clinical Trials of Lead Candidate BT-11

On August 13, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biopharmaceutical company Landos Biopharma announced the completion of a $60 million Series B financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to advance the global Phase II clinical trials of the company’s lead candidate, BT-11. The round was co-led by RTW Investments and the hedge fund Perceptive Advisors, with participation from Osage University Partners and PBM Capital.

It is reported that Landos Biopharma completed a $10 million Series A financing round in September 2017, which was exclusively led by Perceptive Advisors.

Landos Biopharma, established in 2017 and headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA, is a biopharmaceutical company. Landos Biopharma is dedicated to developing “first-in-class” oral therapeutics for patients with autoimmune diseases. Its lead candidate, BT-11, is the first novel drug that is orally active and exerts local therapeutic effects.

In the relevant patented molecular library, in addition to the lead compound BT-11, there are 48 privileged scaffolds and 3 billion compounds. Regarding indications for development, beyond the lead indication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) targeted by the lead candidate BT-11, Landos Biopharma also plans to develop new drug molecules for diabetes and influenza-associated pneumonia.

The results of Landos Biopharma’s Phase 1 clinical trial (published in the Journal of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in May 2019) demonstrated that BT-11 was well tolerated. Compared with placebo, all BT-11 treatment groups exhibited lower levels of fecal calprotectin (a predictive biomarker of therapeutic response in IBD).

Landos Biopharma’s R&D pipeline is centered on therapeutics targeting the Lanthionine Synthetase C-Like 2 (LANCL2) signaling pathway, with a focus on developing convenient oral formulations. The company’s proprietary technology has validated LANCL2 as a novel therapeutic target for autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC).

“We are pleased to have completed our $60 million Series B financing,” said Dr. Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Landos Biopharma. “This financing is a strategically important component of our plan to advance our lead candidate, BT-11, into global Phase II clinical trials for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, as we develop novel therapies for complex conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and address unmet clinical needs.”

“We believe that BT-11 has a distinct mechanism of action, with the potential to transform the current treatment paradigm for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease,” said Rod Wong, Managing Partner at RTW Investments and a new member of Landos’ Board of Directors. “RTW Investments is pleased to support Landos as it continues to advance and drive the clinical development of BT-11.”

“We believe that oral compounds for IBD have enormous commercial potential, and BT-11 is the most promising candidate we have seen at this stage,” commented Chris Garabedian, Portfolio Manager at Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund.

“As an Series A investor, we are impressed by the Landos team’s efficiency in completing the Phase I clinical trial of BT-11 within less than two years, and we hope they will make progress in the global Phase II study of BT-11,” added Chris Garabedian.

RTW Investments, headquartered in New York, USA, is a venture capital firm that primarily invests in healthcare companies, with a focus on technology platforms and disease areas. Based on in-depth research, it is committed to investing in innovative companies that bring important new products to patients and providing them with market opportunities.

Global hedge fund Perceptive Advisors was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, USA. The firm specializes in the biopharmaceutical industry, directing capital and other resources to the most promising startups in modern healthcare. Perceptive Advisors manages approximately $4 billion in assets and has invested in more than 60 companies to date.

Osage University Partners, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA, is a venture capital firm focused on investing in startups that commercialize university technologies. The company primarily invests in software, hardware, and life sciences companies.

PBM Capital Group is a venture capital firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. The company is dedicated to investing in the healthcare, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries.

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)