GDF15 may sound familiar. This is the protein that Amgen, Merck, and Eli Lilly built analogs of in an attempt to create new weight loss drugs, but these drugs mostly failed, leaving Amgen in last place among his three, 1 Moon quietly pulled the plug on his GDF15 program.
But GDF15 is not dead. The science behind weight loss drugs dates back to the observation that some cancer patients have high levels of her GDF15 and lose significant weight. That’s why cancer researchers have created antibodies that inhibit proteins rather than mimic them.
German biotech CatalYm, named for ‘antibody catalyzing’, is running a mid-term program for visugromab, a GDF15 antibody in solid tumors. The company has now raised his €50 million (about US$49 million) Series C and is “more aggressive with Phase II,” said his CEO Phil L’Huiller. endpoint news.
Andreas WarneuferNew investors Brandon Capital and Jeito Capital led the round, followed by existing investors Forbion, Novartis’ venture arm, Vesalius Biocapital III, Bayern Kapital, BioGeneration Ventures and Coparion. In addition, Brandon’s Jonathan Tobin and Jeito’s Andreas Wallnöfer will join CatalYm’s board of directors. According to Wallnöfer, CatalYm is his Jeito’s first investment in Germany.
At ESMO earlier this year, CatalYm conducted an 18-person study on visugromab plus Opdivo in patients who were heavily pretreated and progressed on previous PD-1 therapy, i.e., those who had exhausted all options. I read out the full data from the Phase 1 trial that I did. In that study, three patients had partial responses, one of whom had a response that lasted more than her one year. Three of her additional patients also had stable disease during treatment, one of whom saw her cancer stop progressing over her one year during treatment.
Wallnöfer emphasized the potential of visugromab as an adjunctive therapy for patients with solid tumors, noting that in addition to the ‘benign’ safety profile, the drug had sustained efficacy as a last-line treatment. Events were observed in the Phase I trial.
In March, CatalYm initiated a Phase 2 trial of visugromab. Using the two higher doses (10 and 20 mg/kg) he from the first study, the new program is expected to enroll about 160 patients. It’s also being extended to the U.S. — a decision made after the Phase I announcement, said L’Huiller, who said CatalYm will meet with clinicians at MD Anderson and open a study site for visugromab. pointed out that he was interested in
That phase II trial and another biomarker trial are expected to have first results in the first half of next year, L’Huiller said.
The Series C comes at a time when the public market is cooling. “In terms of fundraising, it was quite difficult at first due to the global situation and the closure of his IPO window,” said L’Huiller. “It has affected how we view funding. In November, only one biotech company, his Arivon Therapeutics, made the leap from private to public, while others The company pulled out of the plan.
Pfizer also has a GDF15-targeted antibody against cancer known as ponceglomab, which recently started a Phase II trial. Stop muscle loss.
