Oxyrane Raises $26.5m in Series D Financing
Forbion Capital Partners announced that it has invested in Oxyrane UK Limited, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of enzyme replacement therapies (ERT) to treat lysosomal storage diseases, a class of more than forty rare inherited diseases. In its oversubscribed Series D financing round the company raised $26.5m. Other investors in the round include Morningside Groups and existing investor New Science Ventures. On behalf of Forbion Sander Slootweg (Forbion Capital Partners) has joined the board of Oxyrane next to Dr. Gerald Chan of Morningside Group.
The current fundraising will enable Oxyrane to advance its lead ERT treatment for Pompe disease from preclinical stages through to the end of phase I/II, as well as further preclinical development of other ERTs. Pompe disease (also called Glycogen storage disease type II or acid maltase deficiency) is a rare, serious disease in which acid alpha-glucosidase enzyme deficiency leads to glycogen accumulation and muscle and nerve cells damage. If untreated, the infantile form is fatal – often before one year of age - due to cardiorespiratory failure.
Oxyrane has developed a proprietary platform for the production of therapeutic proteins with homogenous, human sugar structures using the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Based on this platform, Oxyrane can produce human lysosomal enzymes with 3-15 times the amount of mannose 6-phosphate, the essential targeting sugar structure which facilitates effective enzyme uptake and localisation, obtained in current commercial processes. The substantial enhanced levels of the natural targeting mechanism can deliver more than a 20-fold improvement in cellular uptake without altering the naturally occurring protein enzyme. Based on experience at 1,000 litre scale with its simple batch production process, Oxyrane believes that it can scale production up to 100,000 litres if necessary - dramatically altering the production economics of these products. Due to its proven versatility the Y. lipolytica platform not only enables robust and consistent production of lysosomal enzymes but also of a range of other human glycoproteins, including antibodies.
Michael Campbell, CEO of Oxyrane stated: “We are pleased to have Morningside Group and Forbion Capital Partners join existing investor New Science Ventures. This syndicate of respected, experienced investors will provide us with the support necessary to advance our exciting pipeline towards the clinic. Oxyrane is now well positioned to progress our research into clinical trials in Pompe disease in order to explore the potential benefits of our technology in people with this debilitating and potentially fatal disorder.”
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