San Diego-based Avalon Ventures has launched three new biotech startups, as part of an unconventional partnership with GlaxoSmithKline.
Two years ago, the pharma giant and Avalon said they’d fund and co-launch 10 new early-stage life sciences companies with up to $495 million — providing support through preclinical proof-of-concept. Since, they’ve launched six startups.
The three new startups — Adrenergics, CadheRx Therapeutics and Calporta Therapeutics will each receive up to $10 million in Series A financing, Avalon said in a release.
Adrenergics is developing a medication geared toward dilated cardiomyopathy — a heart muscle disease that results in inefficient pumping of blood. It doesn’t disclose whether the drug’s a biologic or small molecule.
CadheRx is building antibody-based therapeutics to treat solid tumors that are resistant to other treatments — particularly Cetuximab and Herceptin-resistant epithelial cancers. The IP comes from Stony Brook University.
Calporta is developing selective small molecule antagonists to treat Niemann-Pick C Disease, and other lysosomal storage diseases. The work’s licensed from the University of Michigan.
“Avalon’s nimble start-up mentality aligned with the unparalleled R&D expertise and resources of a global pharmaceutical giant like GSK has proven to be a powerful engine for identifying exciting early-stage research for translation into drug candidates, producing six new biotech companies from this collaboration over the last two years,” Avalon Ventures managing director Jay Lichter said in a statement.
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.
