– USA, MA – Axial Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of people with neurological diseases, today announced a $37.25 million Series C financing led by OneVentures and UTokyo IPC (University of Tokyo Innovation Platform Company) alongside Autism Impact Fund and Corundum Systems Biology and existing investors, Longwood Fund, Seventure Partners, Taiho Ventures, and Domain Associates also participating in this round.
Concurrent with the financing, Sarah Meibusch, principal, OneVentures, and Dr. Mark Ohori (Ph.D.) from UTokyo IPC have joined the board of directors.
The company also announced the appointment of Nora Frey from Seventure to its Board of Directors, filling a vacant board seat previously held by a Seventure representative.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are grateful to receive the tremendous support from this diverse group of global investors who share in Axial’s ambitious vision,” said Board chair, Ron Renaud. “I am also pleased to welcome Sarah, Mark and Nora as new members of our Board. Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue to leverage our scientific leadership in the gut-brain axis to transform the lives of patients.”
“The gut microbiome and its link to the pathology and symptoms associated with neurodegenerative diseases is an exciting area of medicine that has great potential and deserves recognition,” said Sarah Meibusch. “With proven scientific expertise in the gut-brain axis and a robust small molecule drug discovery program, Axial is poised to address unmet medical needs for serious neurological disorders, including autism and Parkinson’s disease.”
“Axial has emerged as the scientific leader in microbiome-gut-brain axis and its role in the central nervous system,” said Dr. Ohori. “We are excited to support the company as it works to fulfill the promise of AB-2004 for irritability in children with autism, and pursues new clinical development programs that leverage its expertise in the gut microbiome to bring forward gut-restricted therapies for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders.”
The additional financing builds upon earlier Series A and Series B financing rounds, bringing total investment in the company to $91.5 million to date.
Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to advance the clinical development of the lead candidate, AB-2004, a gut-restricted molecular therapy for irritability in children with autism. In addition, the funds will be used to drive forward the company’s drug discovery programs based on the company’s platform in the microbiome-gut-brain axis.
“Axial is focused on fundamentally changing the way we approach neurological diseases by harnessing our specialized expertise on the biological role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis and its influence on the central nervous system,” said CEO, Dr. Stewart Campbell. “We are grateful for the support and confidence demonstrated by both our existing and new investors in our novel microbiome approach. This significant capital raise enables us to advance AB-2004, which is poised to redefine the treatment of irritability in autism, and fulfill the potential of our robust drug discovery platform to identify new therapeutic targets in the gut and develop new medical interventions that make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients.”
About Axial Therapeutics
Axial Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of people with neurological diseases. The company is the scientific leader in the biological role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis and its influence on the central nervous system. Harnessing its unique expertise in the microbiome, Axial is developing small molecule drugs with defined mechanisms of action that act on new targets to mitigate the impact of metabolites and bacteria in the gut linked to neurological disease pathology, progression, and symptoms. The company is advancing a pipeline of microbiome-inspired therapeutics for diseases with significant unmet patient needs, including autism and Parkinson’s disease, and is also pursuing pre-clinical discovery of gut-targeted therapies in oncology. Axial’s lead product candidate is AB-2004, a molecular therapeutic in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of irritability in children with autism.
For more information: https://axialtx.com/
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