August 8, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
BURLINGAME, Calif. – Backed by an investment from Celgene , privately-held Bay Area Cleave Biosciences nabbed a $37 million shot in the arm to support clinical development of the company’s lead oncology drug candidate, CB-5083.
In addition to Celgene, the round of Series B financing was supported by new investors Nextech Invest Ltd. and Arcus Ventures. Other investors include 5AM Ventures, Clarus Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Orbimed Advisors, U.S. Venture Partners, Astellas Venture Management and Osage University Partners.
Laura Shawver, chief executive officer of Cleave Biosciences said in a statement that the funding shot will give the company the ability to “sustain our momentum with the commitment of our new and existing investors.”
Cleave’s CB-5083 is a first-in-class, oral inhibitor of p97, a critical enzyme that controls various aspects of protein homeostasis. P97, a Valosin Containing Protein, has a role as a regulator in the Ubiquitin Proteasome System. Last year the drug was granted orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of multiple myeolema.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that in the U.S., approximately 70,000 people are living with multiple myeloma and approximately 24,050 new cases will be diagnosed this year.
Cleave’s experimental drug is currently being evaluated in two Phase I trials in patients with advanced disease and no standard of care—CLC-101 in patients with solid tumors and CLC-102 in patients with lymphoid hematologic malignancies, including multiple myeloma.
Cleave’s discovery program focus on two novel enzyme classes with roles in protein homeostasis: AAA ATPases and novel zinc-dependent JAMM metalloproteases, according to information on the company’s website. Cleave’s discovery team believes targeting these protein homeostasis systems have big potential in addressing treatment for certain cancers. “We’ve made significant progress advancing the clinical program for our lead drug candidate, CB-5083, as well as ongoing research to identify additional novel agents targeting the AAA ATPase family,” Shawver said.
In addition to new funding, Cleave has also made some adjustments to its leadership team by tapping Tim Smith as its new chief business officer. Smith’s duties will include business development, corporate development and investor relations. Before joining Cleave, Smith served as the executive director of business development at Celgene, the same company that backed Cleave in the latest round of funding.
Celgene has made recent investments in a number of companies, including Bay Area startup Ideaya Biosciences, Inc., an immuno-oncology specialist, and FLX Bio, another cancer company focusing on leukemia. Last year, Celgene struck a 10-year $1 billion collaborative agreement with Juno Therapeutics to leverage T cell therapeutic strategies.Not only did the Series B funding provide Cleave with $37 million, it also brought Alfred Scheidegger, founding partner of Nextech Invest, to the company’s board of directors. Also Carol Gallager, a partner at NEA, joined Cleave’s board of directors.
