On April 20, 2020 Zikani Therapeutics, a company dedicated to leveraging its unique TURBO-ZM platform to develop novel ribosome modulating agents (RMAs) for the treatment of rare, nonsense mutation-driven diseases, reported the close of a $7.5 million Series A-1 financing (Press release, Zikani Therapeutics, APR 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234558245]). Advent Life Sciences, Gurnet Point Capital and Roche Venture Fund supported the funding.
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"We’re pleased to support Zikani as an emerging company that is using the strength of its science and a refined strategy to develop novel ribosome modulators for rare diseases caused by nonsense mutations," said Raj Parekh of Advent Life Sciences.
Zikani will use the proceeds to advance its current nonsense mutation readthrough programs from lead optimization to candidate selection. The company has demonstrated positive, pre-clinical data in multiple disease areas, including: APC mutant colon cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), class 1 cystic fibrosis, and recessive dystrophic and junctional epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB and JEB).
"Zikani has generated promising data that validates its TURBO-ZM platform and addresses a completely unmet need in oncology therapeutics: restoring expression of a major tumor suppressor gene," said Keith Flaherty, M.D., Director of Clinical Research at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a senior advisor to Zikani.
Ribosomal RNAs form the translation machinery that generates function proteins from genetic sequencies. Ribosome modulation provides a therapeutic approach to addressing a number of diseases, but the development of disease-specific ribosome modulators has been a challenge. Zikani’s proprietary platform TURBO-ZM allows rapid synthesis of novel RMAs that can be optimized to target the human ribosome in a disease specific manner.
"We’re highly encouraged by the data we’ve generated to date and are working rapidly to advance compounds into pre-clinical development. This financing, particularly in this volatile financial market, is a vote of confidence for our promising technology platform. As we look ahead, our focus is to maximize the funding and take the steps necessary to generate greater recognition for RMAs and form collaborations with partners that will benefit from our scientific platform," said Sumit Aggarwal, President and CEO, Zikani Therapeutics.