Nuvig plans to use its funding to advance its lead molecule, complete some pre-IND enabling studies and move the molecule to the clinic to begin Phase I studies.
Nuvig co-founder and CEO Pamela Conley, Ph.D./Courtesy Nuvig
Nuvig Therapeutics launched Wednesday with $47 million in Series A financing. Novo Holdings A/S and Plantus led the financing round, along with support from Bristol Myers Squibb, Digitalis Ventures and Mission BioCapital.
Nuvig aims to develop novel immune therapeutics for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases by inducing the mechanisms of immune homeostasis. The company has developed protein therapeutics that are genetically engineered to activate a class of immune-regulatory receptors that reestablish immune homeostasis following inflammation, which can help prevent tissue damage and injury in patients.
“Just as the body has developed specific mechanisms to turn on the inflammatory response following an infection or viral exposure, it’s also developed ways to turn down the immune response, and that’s the approach we are taking with our therapy,” Pamela Conley, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Nuvig, said in an interview with BioSpace. “Based on preclinical data that we have, we expect this mechanism to be broadly active in autoimmune diseases and so with this Series A financing, we’re starting the manufacturing of the molecule we are planning to use for our studies.”
Although the specifics about the lead molecule that Nuvig is developing are still under wraps, Conley shared that it is a recombinant version of a protein that naturally occurs in humans. The protein binds to a class of immunoregulatory receptors that are expressed on both myeloid and lymphoid immune cells, lineages of cells which include macrophages, T cells and B cells. The company’s name, Nuvig, is actually a play on words, as it is exploiting novel ways to use naturally occurring mechanisms imparted by the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily.
“There’s still a need for safe and efficacious therapies that don’t compromise the patient’s immune response. Many of these patients have to take steroids, which can’t be taken chronically, but even some of the approved therapies put you at risk for compromised infections and in some cases, even long-term risk of cancer,” Conley said. “If we can use a different approach, we feel like we could provide a new class of molecules to treat chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases that would have an improved safety profile.”
Nuvig plans to primarily use its funding to advance its lead molecule, complete some pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies and move the molecule to the clinic to begin Phase I studies. Although Conley believes the lead molecule could potentially have indications in several autoimmune diseases, the first target for the company will likely be an autoimmune disease that has a readily available and rapidly occurring biomarker that can be easily measured and that will respond quickly in the clinic.
The company will also utilize funds to fill in critical roles in manufacturing and regulatory and clinical development. Additionally, Conley said Nuvig plans to take the lead molecule into the clinic to achieve proof of concept and identify an efficacious dose range so that the molecule can be expanded into additional autoimmune disease areas. The company plans to create a platform of molecules to be used in the context of disease pathologies.
