Merida is working on a selective therapy for Graves’ disease, leveraging targeted therapies that can deplete disease-causing autoantibodies.
A new biotech, Merida Biosciences, has launched with $121 million in the bank to advance a new class of precision treatments for autoimmune and allergic diseases.
Merida’s therapies are “antibody-like,” according to its Tuesday announcement, aiming for a “deep and durable depletion” of autoimmune disease-causing autoantibodies without causing broad immunosuppression or triggering systemic toxicities.
The startup’s proprietary platform produces what it calls Fc biotherapeutics, which are molecules based on the Fc fragment of antibodies. According to Merida’s website, these agents can selectively target pathogenic autoantibodies which would otherwise attack the body’s own tissues and redirect them to specialized cells in the liver for degradation. These Fc therapies can also block B cells, preventing the further production of new autoantibodies.
With its lead program, Merida is targeting Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid. The condition is characterized by autoantibodies binding to thyroid-stimulating hormone receptors, which results in the excessive production of thyroid hormone, accelerating metabolic activity.
Currently, patients can undergo thyroid surgery or radioactive iodine therapy, both of which can remove or at least shrink the thyroid, but are also “highly intrusive and burdensome,” Merida noted on its website. Instead of targeting the organ itself, the biotech hopes its therapy can “precisely target, neutralize and eliminate” disease-causing autoantibodies “to restore healthy thyroid hormone activity,” according to its Monday release.
Merida’s Graves’ disease program is currently in the IND-enabling stage. The biotech is also working on IgE-mediated allergic diseases and primary membranous nephropathy, both of which are still undergoing pre-clinical proof-of-concept studies.
Merida, which was originally seeded in 2022 by Third Rock Ventures, is additionally backed by Bain Capital Life Sciences, BVF Partners, GV and PXV Funds.
With its launch on Tuesday, Merida joins the highly competitive immunology and inflammation (I&I) field. It follows in the footsteps of Boston-based startup Hillstar Bio, which debuted in late March with $67 million in series A funding. Hillstar is working on therapies that selectively deplete disease-causing cells while leaving healthy ones untouched.
In February, startup Bambusa Therapeutics also entered the field with $90 million in backing to develop bispecific antibodies, likewise targeting immunological and inflammatory conditions.
Big pharmas are also putting money into the space. In March, Sanofi made a hefty investment in its immuno pipeline, buying Dren Bio’s bispecific antibody DR-0201 for $600 million upfront and up to $1.3 billion in milestones. The asset is currently in a Phase I basket trial for autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
