June 11, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Cambridge-based startup XTuit is celebrating Thursday after announcing it had raked in $22 million in a Series A funding round, a significant debut from a new company that had been in stealth mode until now.
Its news that has XTuit attracting attention for its focus on the body’s microenvironment as a source for new therapies to treat diseases like cancer and cirrhosis.
XTuit is also getting noticed because one of its three founders is well-known Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chemist and engineer Robert Langer, who has had a hand in creating at least two dozen companies in the last 30 years, most of which were based on his scientific findings or inventions.
XTuit has several proprietary, microenvironment-activated drugs that target fibrotic inflammatory conditions. They are also being tested as anti-tumor therapies to work in tandem with common drugs currently on the market, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy and targeted agents.
XTuit said Thursday it will use the $22 million to roll its pipeline into clinical trials.
“This financing will enable us to demonstrate the activity of our lead products in human trials,” said Alan Crane, chief executive officer of XTuit in a statement.
“Our objective is to show in clinical studies that we can significantly improve outcomes in oncology with immune checkpoint drugs as well as other cancer agents and that we can rapidly and significantly reverse fibrosis in liver cirrhosis and NASH.”
XTuit is backed by a constellation of investors. Today’s funding was led by New Enterprise Associates and existing investor Polaris Partners, as well as new investors CTI Life Sciences, Arcus Ventures and Omega Funds.“We are excited to close our Series A round with a strong syndicate validating our novel therapeutic approach. The microenvironment represents an important new target for therapeutic intervention that could have profound implications in oncology and fibrotic disease,” said Crane.
Langer’s involvement was likely a major impetus to other companies to invest in XTuit, particularly venture capital firms that have their pick of any number of novel science candidates these days.
The Boston Business Journal pointed out that Langer said in a speech last October that he enjoys working with startups because they’re more likely to have passionate missions and creators.
“When I first started doing this work on drug delivery, you know, nobody seemed to care…A couple large companies asked me to do some consulting and license the technology, but then they didn’t really use it,” he was quoted as saying by FierceDrugDelivery. “I think the small companies, they care. They’re kind of our creation.”
When Will Pfizer’s Breakup Happen?
Speculation that the revamping of Pfizer Inc. ’s internal business structure could happen as soon as this year has biotech wondering just when this Big Pharma company could see changes.
Last week an analyst with J.P. Morgan said he thinks there will be a much faster timeline than most of Wall Street had predicted for Pfizer’s stated mission to refocus its efforts on new medicines.
Pfizer initially announced in 2012 that it would be shedding units that were non-essential to that goal. It then promptly sold its nutrition silo to Nestle for $11.85 billion, which was rapidly accompanied by a public spin-off of its animal health business for $2.2 billion.
“While a Pfizer break-up would likely be a 2017 event, we see potential catalysts in 2015-2016,” said Chris Schott, an analyst at J.P. Morgan. “Three years of audited financial statements (2014-2016) are required before any part of Pfizer can be spun off, and we also see 2017 as an attractive time for action as investors see Pfizer’s innovative pipeline clearly contributing to growth and the established business having transitioned to a more stable profile.”
BioSpace wants to know what you think: Will Pfizer be a changed company by the end of 2015?
