XyloCor Therapeutics Secures $17 Million Series A Financing to Advance Gene Therapy for Refractory Angina

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that U.S. biopharmaceutical company XyloCor Therapeutics has recently completed its Series A financing round. The investors were Sofinnova Ventures and Life Sciences Partners, with the amount raised totaling $17 million. This round of financing will be used to develop gene therapies for cardiovascular diseases, primarily for the treatment of angina.

XyloCor Therapeutics, founded in 2013, is a biopharmaceutical company developing gene therapies for patients with advanced coronary artery disease. It is committed to improving the lives of individuals with cardiovascular diseases by advancing the science of gene therapy. The company’s primary focus is on its lead product candidate for patients with refractory angina who have no other treatment options, as well as a secondary product candidate for patients suffering from myocardial tissue damage resulting from heart attacks.

XyloCor’s XC001 is a gene therapy designed to treat refractory angina in patients who are typically ineligible for other interventions, such as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and stent placement.

The purpose of XC001 is to stimulate the formation of new coronary arteries to serve areas of the heart that do not receive adequate blood supply. This therapeutic strategy, supported by preclinical and clinical evidence, aims to reduce limitations imposed on patients by debilitating chest pain during daily activities. An Investigational New Drug (IND) application for XC001 has been submitted to the FDA, with clinical trials expected to commence in the first half of 2019.

Image from the official website of XyloCor Therapeutics

In a statement, the company noted that patients with refractory conditions often become sedentary, which may exacerbate symptoms and even lead to complications. Todd Rosengart, M.D., co-founder and board member of XyloCor, stated that they hope XyloCor’s gene therapy will not only alleviate pain by stimulating the growth of new blood vessels but also enable patients to become more active, thereby improving their quality of life.

“XyloCor was founded primarily to develop proprietary gene therapies for patients with refractory angina who have no remaining treatment options,” said Al Gianchetti, CEO of XyloCor and former executive at GlaxoSmithKline. “This financing enables us to bring XC001, a product that offers new hope, into development for patients suffering from this chronic and debilitating condition.”

Since its inception, the company has not disclosed any prior financing rounds apart from this current one. XyloCor stated that, in addition to advancing XC001, this funding will help the company establish its business and operational infrastructure. The company is currently investigating another drug candidate, XC002, which aims to regenerate cardiac tissue damaged by heart attacks.

XyloCor is not the first company to attempt treating heart disease with gene therapy. Celladon, a San Diego-based company, previously sought to develop a drug for heart failure but reported in 2015 that its Phase II clinical trial had failed. The therapy, known as Mydicar, failed to reduce hospitalizations, improve survival rates, or eliminate patients’ need for ventricular assist devices and heart transplants. This setback caused a sharp decline in the company’s market value.

In recent years, gene therapy has been gaining momentum. Biotechnology company Sarepta Therapeutics (formerly AVI BioPharma) has invested heavily in gene therapies across its product pipeline; Orchard Therapeutics, a biogenetics company providing transformative gene therapies, acquired GlaxoSmithKline’s rare disease gene therapy assets; and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Axovant Sciences also pivoted to gene therapy after the failure of its lead Alzheimer’s drug development program.

Sofinnova Ventures, established in 1974 and headquartered in California, USA, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical venture capital firm. As of December 31, 2017, it managed approximately $1.7 billion in capital. Its French parent company, Sofinnova SA, was founded in Paris in 1972 and is one of Europe’s earliest venture capital firms. Sofinnova began operations in the United States in 1974 with the aim of building a transatlantic alliance between the US and Europe. Achieving significant success in the US market, Sofinnova SA was an early investor in renowned companies such as Tandem Computers and Genentech. The firm focuses on investments in the clinical and late preclinical stages of biopharmaceutical products, committed to building world-class companies that substantially improve healthcare and, ultimately, patients’ lives.

LSP is an independent European investment firm that provides financing to both private and public life sciences companies. Since the 1980s, LSP has cumulatively invested in approximately 100 innovative enterprises, many of which have become global leaders in the life sciences industry. The firm’s total investments exceed $1.2 billion, and it currently maintains offices in Amsterdam, Munich, and Boston. In addition to its investments in the life sciences sector, LSP invests in public companies through the LSP Life Sciences Fund, which is listed on Euronext.