Clarametyx Biosciences Inc. has raised $33 million from backers including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to accelerate progress of its potential infection-busting treatment and test if it can help patients with the genetic lung condition.
The Nationwide Children's Hospital spinoff is developing an antibody therapy that uniquely targets the slimy "biofilm" that bacteria build around themselves in persistent and drug-resistant infections. Collapse the film, and the immune system and antibiotics can work.
“We hope that this potential therapy will ultimately help people with (cystic fibrosis) clear many different types of difficult-to-treat infections,” Dr. JP Clancy, the foundation's senior vice president of clinical research, said in a release. “This could provide a crucial new tool that could be used alongside traditional antibiotics in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
Ohio Innovation Fund, the Columbus firm focused on in-state technology, led the round, with participation by fellow repeat investors Children’s, Rev1 Ventures, JobsOhio Growth Capital, C Bio Investors and 1776 Fund.
The foundation is a new investor, contributing $5 million of the total, according to releases. Other relative amounts are not disclosed.
More than 100,000 children and adults globally have cystic fibrosis, a mutation that causes mucus to become thick and sticky, creating complications in the lungs, pancreas and other organs. Advances in therapy have enabled many patients to live into their 30s and 40s, according to the foundation's website, but persistent infections are a challenge. The foundation has invested more than $100 million over five years into infection-fighting research.
With the round Clarametyx has begun an early-stage safety trial in people with CF who have chronic infections of one species of bacteria, which could lead to trials for other types if successful, according to a release. The trial will test the antibody treatment in conjunction with an inhaled antibiotic.
The startup launched in 2020 to commercialize the treatment invented at the Columbus pediatric hospital. Besides venture backing, the company has won research grants.
Last year Clarametyx reported positive early results in a trial testing the treatment in healthy volunteers. That study is expected to wrap up early this year, and progress to tests in patients with persistent pneumonia.
“This successful raise enables us to expand our clinical evaluations of a platform that we believe will address critical unmet needs in infectious disease management,” CEO David Richards said in a release. “We believe this research will further support the broad applicability of this first-in-class technology.”
Columbus Inno named Clarametyx a Startup to Watch for 2023, noting that the startup would likely have to raise significant capital to run expensive clinical trials toward seeking U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval.
Richards is attending this week's Biotechnology Innovation Organization and JPMorgan Chase & Co. conference, or "JPM Week," in San Francisco, and not immediately available for an interview.
"Global health authorities continue to raise alarms about persistent bacterial infections and the rise in antimicrobial resistance associated with overuse of antibiotics,” Bill Baumel, managing director of Ohio Innovation Fund, said in the release. “There is a clear and urgent need for novel technologies that can enhance the effectiveness of today’s antibiotics to address these challenging infections, and the Clarametyx technology represents a compelling strategy that we can propel into broader clinical studies to serve this need.”
