Right on the heels of embarking on two new Phase 1 trials, epigenetics player Constellation Pharma has raised $5 million in an internal round from existing investors – a solid chunk of change.
“It’s just the amount we needed to top off our balance sheet in order to take the company to a decision point for a potential acquisition from Genentech,” Chief Financial Officer Matthias Jaffe said in a phone interview.
Cambridge-based Constellation Pharma in 2012 announced, after all, that following a $95 million up-front payment from Roche’s Genentech it had the exclusive option to be acquired by the biotech behemoth.
Constellation Pharmaceuticals also announced it has begun two additional Phase 1 clinical studies of its lead drug, CPI-0610. One trial focuses on patients with multiple myeloma, and the other studies the drug in patients with acute leukemias or myelodysplastic syndrome. It has been in Phase 1 testing of the drug in patients with lymphoma since September 2013.
Thanks to beginning the two new studies, Constellation also received a $1.5 million milestone from its partnership from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Constellation Pharma is developing two epigenetic platforms – using bromodomain and extra-terminal proteins, or BETs, as well as a histone lysine methyltransferase called EZH2. These enzymes can activate or deactivate specific disease-causing genes, and modulate chromatin structures, thereby killing off cancerous cells.
It was founded in 2008, and has recieved more than $50 million in funding to date – though its last equity raise was in 2011. On top of that, in 2012 it received $95 million in an up-front fee from Roche’s Genentech – with the aforementioned buyout option – that said it’d fund the company’s research over a three-year period.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The company has serious ties to Third Rock Ventures – it was founded by Mark Levin and is led by former Third Rock entrepreneur-in-residence Keith Dionne. The company has also received investment from The Column Group, Venrock, SR-One and Altitude Life Science Ventures.
