Tiburio Therapeutics Secures $31 Million Series A Financing to Advance Clinical-Stage Endocrine Disease Therapies

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that Tiburio Therapeutics, the third orphan drug company under the drug accelerator Cydan, has completed a $31 million Series A financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to advance a pair of clinical-stage compounds licensed from Ipsen for the treatment of rare endocrine disorders.

Investors in this financing round included New Enterprise Associates, Longitude Capital, Lundbeckfond Ventures, and Alexandria Venture.

Abraham Ceesay, CEO of Tiburio Therapeutics, stated that TBR-760 has demonstrated significant efficacy in the treatment of non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). Scientists have proven that it inhibits NFPA cell proliferation, suggesting that the use of this drug may shrink or halt tumor growth.

Currently, patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) can only undergo transsphenoidal surgery—a procedure that removes tumors via the nose and sphenoid bone—to suppress NFPA cell proliferation. Approximately half of these patients retain residual tumor tissue in the brain after surgery, which may lead to tumor recurrence and necessitate a second operation.

CEO Ceesay categorizes the patient population for the drug TBR-760 into two groups: approximately 50,000 patients who have previously undergone surgery and still have active residual tumors in their brains, and approximately 5,000 new patients annually who can take the drug before requiring invasive surgery. Patients in the first group can receive TBR-760 directly, with monitoring to determine whether intracranial tumors halt progression or shrink, thereby helping them avoid secondary surgeries. For new patients, Tiburio advocates administering the drug prior to invasive procedures to inhibit the proliferation of NFPA cells. “We need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of TBR-760 within our development plan to ascertain its real-world efficacy when used prior to transsphenoidal surgery,” stated Ceesay.

It is understood that, following the completion of this financing round, Tiburio will immediately initiate Phase 2 studies for TBR-760, with plans to commence Phase 2 clinical trials in patients with NFPA in the second half of 2019. Meanwhile, the company and its investors will also advance research on several other drugs targeting rare endocrine disorders, such as TBR-065. However, the development timeline for this latter candidate remains more flexible, as Tiburio’s current primary focus is on advancing TBR-760 through clinical trials.

Previously, Cydan, Tiburio’s parent company, launched its first rare-disease startup, Vtesse, in January 2015. Vtesse raised a total of $42 million in Series A financing to develop a therapy for Niemann-Pick disease type C1. The company was later acquired for $200 million. Subsequently, in April 2016, Cydan launched Imara, a new drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease.

Ceesay stated, “We are launching a ‘lean expert team’ in the field of endocrinology. As the company grows, we will also expand the team and recruit top talent to actively build the overall clinical strategy, clinical operations, and regulatory functions of our clinical development team.”

New Enterprise Associates is a global venture capital firm investing in technology and healthcare. Since its founding in 1977, it has raised over $19 billion in committed capital and maintains extensive activity across the technology and healthcare sectors, spanning from seed-stage investments to initial public offerings (IPOs).

Longitude Capital primarily focuses on venture capital investments in the biotechnology and medical technology sectors. Since 2006, Longitude Capital has raised over $1.2 billion across three funds.

Lundbeckfond Ventures is a financially driven venture capital fund, established in the autumn of 2009 and wholly owned by the Lundbeck Foundation, with annual investments of up to €50 million.

Alexandria Venture is a private equity firm focused on commercial and residential properties, headquartered in San Francisco, California.