Axial Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological diseases, completed a $37.25 million Series C financing round. The proceeds will support Axial’s randomized, controlled Phase 2b clinical trial for lead candidate, AB-2004, a molecular therapeutic to treat irritability in children with autism. The additional financing builds upon Axial’s earlier Series A and Series B financing rounds, bringing total investment in the company to $91.5 million to date.
The funding round was led by new investors OneVentures, a venture capital firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and the University of Tokyo Innovation Platform Company (UTokyo IPC). They were jointed by Autism Impact Fund and Corundum Systems Biology (Tokyo, Japan). Existing investors, Longwood Fund, Seventure Partners, Taiho Ventures, and Domain Associates. In connection with the financing, Sarah Meibusch, principal, OneVentures, and Makoto (Mark) Ohori, Ph.D., UTokyo IPC have joined Axial’s board of directors. In addition, the company announced the appointment of Nora Frey from Seventure to its Board of Directors. Mrs. Frey is filling a vacant board seat previously held by a Seventure representative.
Axial is advancing a pipeline of 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’s drug discovery approach is rooted in the groundbreaking research of its co-founder and chief scientist, Dr. Sarkis Mazmanian at the California Institute of Technology, who has elucidated clear biological links implicating the gut microbiome, via the gut-brain axis, in serious neurological conditions.
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 need, 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.
This was reported by Axial Therapeutics on October 13, 2021.
Contact information: Axial Therapeutics, 400 Tradecenter Drive, Suite 6990, Woburn, MA 01801; (781)-701-8484; Email: info@axialtx.com; Website: https://www.axialtx.com/contact
