In an oversubscribed Series A round of funding, the Cambridge-based biotech company raises funds to develop its platform.
Cambridge-based biotech firm Maxion Therapeutics has raised £58 million in an oversubscribed Series A round of funding to speed up development of its antibody-based drugs for ion channel and G protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-driven diseases.
The round was led by General Catalyst with additional investment from new investors, British Patient Capital, a commercial subsidiary of the British Business Bank, Solasta Ventures and Eli Lilly and Company and supported by existing investors LifeArc Ventures, Monograph Capital and BGF.
“This landmark fundraising – one of the largest European private biotech financings since the beginning of 2024 – highlights the significant potential of our technology and development pipeline,” said chief executive Arndt Schottelius.
Pipeline of therapeutics
The company is developing a pipeline of therapeutics to generate potent, selective, and long-acting therapeutics by combining naturally occurring mini-proteins with antibodies using phage and mammalian display technologies.
It is currently in preclinical development to target a broad spectrum of inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. Other early-stage programmes focus on the treatment of pain and cardiovascular disease.
Ion channel and GPCR dysfunction are implicated in a wide range of debilitating diseases and current treatments, based on small molecule drugs, often suffer from poor efficacy and side effects due to the lack of selectivity and exposure. Compared to small molecules, engineered antibodies offer superior selectivity and are well-proven therapeutically. Despite these obvious advantages, antibody discovery against ion channels and GPCRs has been very challenging with no antibodies against ion channels currently in clinical development.
