SciRhom has clinched €63 million ($70 million) in a Series A raise to advance its lead monoclonal antibody program through a first-in-human trial set to start in the second half of the year.
The Phase 1 trial will study the biotech’s lead candidate, SR-878, in healthy volunteers in Austria later this year. Once that’s completed, the German biotech plans to advance the program into proof-of-concept studies for rheumatoid arthritis and arthritic colitis. The funds should provide a runway through 2027, CEO Jan Poth told Endpoints News in an interview.
SR-878 is a “highly specific monoclonal antibody” targeting iRhom2, which is responsible for regulating the TACE-dependent release of TNF-alpha and other proinflammatory molecules.
Jens RuheSeveral pharma companies have attempted to develop small-molecule inhibitors of TACE or ADAM17 but these ended up failing in mid-stage studies due to the non-specificity of the drugs, which led to off-target effects such as thrombosis and liver toxicity, Chief Operating Officer Jens Ruhe said in the same interview.
By contrast, selectively targeting iRhom2 via an antibody approach is expected to show more favorable safety, Ruhe said. “For example, the skin rashes that are observed with global TACE inhibitors — that’s something we avoid due to the fact that through antibodies against iRohm, we can selectively block TACE in the immune system but leave it untouched in other tissues.”
Furthermore, the way in which iRhom2 is targeted appears to have an effect on which of the disease-driving pathways it influences, Poth said. “That could lead to different profiles, which would make [the mechanism] attractive beyond the pure autoimmune disease space, also looking into oncology, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases,” he said.
The Series A was co-led by Andera Partners, Kurma Partners, Hadean Ventures, MIG Capital and Wellington Partners. New backer Bayern Kapital chipped into the fundraise, which also garnered support from existing investors High-Tech Gründerfonds and PhiFund Ventures.