USA – LifeMine Therapeutics has raised US$175 million in series C financing and formed an R&D collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline aimed at discovering small molecules for up to three human disease targets.

GSK contributed to the round, which was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, plus existing investors Arch Venture Partners, MRL Ventures Fund and more, as 3W Partners Capital, Invus and others joined as new investors.

Verdine said GSK—particularly Barron, who recently announced his departure as chief scientific officer, and Wood, who will replace him—were there from “out the starting gate” of LifeMine’s technology.

Existing investors, including GV (part of Alphabet), Arch Venture Partners, Blue Pool Capital, and MRL Ventures Fund, also participated. MRL Ventures is Merck’s independent early-stage therapeutics venture capital fund.

In January 2021, LifeMine Therapeutics raised US$50 million Series B financing. The Series B financing was led by Rick Klausner and Milky Way Investments, with participation from existing investors GV, WuXi Healthcare Ventures, Foresite Capital, Arch Venture Partners, Blue Pool Capital, and MRL Ventures Fund.

Partnership details

Under the partnership, GSK will gain access to LifeMine’s genomically enabled drug discovery platform, Avatar-Rx, to identify the small molecule leads for targets selected by GSK.

The Avatar-Rx platform combines data science and machine learning with high-throughput microbiology, genome engineering, and automation technologies to search the fungal biosphere for new genetically-encoded small molecules (GEMs) with a pre-defined target and biological function.

LifeMine is trying understand fungi and its potential for medicines. Fungi was once a major source of drug discovery. For example, Penicillin is an antibiotic isolated from growing Penicillium mold in a fermenter.

Both partners will collaborate on the discovery process, with each firm utilizing its respective core expertise and splitting costs equally until an Investigational New Drug (IND) application is submitted.

GSK will be in charge of the product’s development and marketing activities of the products.

Founded in 2017 by chemist Gregory Verdine and others, LifeMine uses multiple techniques to search the fungal biosphere for what it calls genetically encoded small molecules that could lead to new drugs. The firm’s initial focus is on oncology and immune modulation.

GSK Research head and senior vice-president John Lepore said: “GSK’s drug discovery approach focuses on advanced technologies, including human genetics, functional genomics and machine learning to increase our probability of success.

This approach leads to genetically validated targets that are twice as likely to succeed as medicines, but due to their novelty often require innovation to unlock their potential.

We are looking forward to teaming up with LifeMine to use their cutting-edge platform, so together, we can identify what nature might have already created as chemistry starting points to increase our chances of developing transformational new drugs for patients.”

LifeMine co-founder, CEO and chief scientific officer Gregory Verdine said: “This is a transformative collaboration for LifeMine, and marks the first such agreement in genomic drug discovery from fungi, nature’s virtuoso medicinal chemists.

We look forward to a productive partnership which we are confident will result in novel therapeutic options for patients.”

“Build a pipeline”

LifeMine, on the other hand, will be able to “build a pipeline” thanks to the series C funding, according to Verdine.

He anticipates that the company will have selected two development candidates by the end of this year, with Investigational New Drug (INDs) filing in late 2023 or early 2024.

Aside from designating therapies for clinical trials, funds will be used to hire key executives such as a chief data officer, a chief medical officer, and others.

LifeMine also intends to open a 40,000-square-foot research facility in Basel, Switzerland, in addition to its existing facilities in Gloucester and Alewife, Massachusetts. The Basel site will be devoted to chemistry.

Verdine anticipates that LifeMine will have a stocked pipeline in two years and that the GSK partnership will begin to bear fruit with Investigational New Drug (IND) discussions.

GSK and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals signed an exclusive license agreement for ARO-HSD, an investigational RNA interference therapeutic, in November of last year.

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