Maxion Therapeutics Raises $72M in Series A Financing to Advance KnotBody® Platform Targeting Ion Channels and GPCRs

On March 17, in Cambridge, UK, Maxion Therapeutics (“Maxion”), a biotechnology company developing antibody-based KnotBody® drugs for the treatment of ion channel and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases, announced the completion of a $72 million (£58 million) Series A financing round. This financing round once again affirms the potential of Maxion's proprietary KnotBody technology and development pipeline, as well as its opportunity to enter large global markets.

This oversubscribed Series A round was led by General Catalyst, with additional investments from new investors British Patient Capital, the commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank, Solasta Ventures, and Eli Lilly, and supported by existing investors LifeArc Ventures, Monograph Capital, and BGF.

Arndt Schottelius, M.D., CEO of Maxion Therapeutics, said:"This is one of the largest private biotechnology financings in Europe since the beginning of 2024, marking a significant milestone that highlights the tremendous potential of our technology and development pipeline. KnotBodies represent a potentially groundbreaking form of biotherapeutics with enhanced potency, selectivity, and durability. We believe that KnotBodies will provide transformative new treatment options for ion channel and GPCR-driven diseases across a wide range of therapeutic areas where there remains a high unmet medical need. The validation from our international consortium of investors underscores our approach, and I warmly welcome our new investors to Maxion while expressing gratitude to our existing investors for their continued support."

Maxion Therapeutics is developing a proprietary pipeline of KnotBody molecules with “best-in-class” and “first-in-class” potential. Maxion’s lead KnotBody program, MAX001, is currently in preclinical development for various inflammatory diseases, including atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Other early-stage programs include KnotBody molecules for the treatment of pain and cardiovascular diseases.

Dysfunction of ion channels and GPCRs is associated with a variety of debilitating diseases. Current small-molecule drug-based treatments often show poor efficacy and severe side effects due to a lack of selectivity and exposure. Compared with small molecules, engineered antibodies offer higher selectivity and have been well proven in therapeutic applications. Despite these clear advantages, the discovery of antibodies targeting ion channels and GPCRs has remained highly challenging, and there are currently no clinically approved antibodies targeting ion channels.

Co-founders John McCafferty, Ph.D., and Aneesh Karatt Vellatt, Ph.D., developed Maxion's revolutionary KnotBody technology, which combines the benefits of knottins (cysteine-rich mini-proteins that are natural ion channel modulators) with antibodies to create safe, effective, and long-lasting ion channel modulators.