Proceeds to advance clinical development of lead program for gout, broaden the Company’s pipeline, and expand its genomically recoded organism platform
BOSTON, July 19, 2024 – GRO Biosciences Inc. (“GRObio”), a biotechnology company leveraging synthetic biology to expand the amino acid alphabet and deliver on the promise of protein therapeutics, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $60.3 million Series B financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the Company’s lead program into the clinic for the treatment of refractory gout, to broaden the GRObio pipeline, and to expand its genomically recoded organism (GRO) platform for scalable production of therapeutics incorporating multiple non-standard amino acids (NSAAs).
The Series B financing brings the total capital raised by GRObio to more than $90 million and was co-led by new investors Atlas Venture and Access Biotechnology. Previous investors including Leaps by Bayer, Redmile Group, Digitalis Ventures and Innovation Endeavors also participated. In connection with the financing, Kevin Bitterman, PhD, Partner at Atlas Venture and Dan Becker, MD, PhD, Managing Director at Access Biotechnology, have joined the Company’s Board of Directors.
GRObio’s lead program, ProGly-Uricase, is being developed for the treatment of severe, refractory gout, a type of arthritis that causes debilitating inflammation in joints due to excessive accumulation of uric acid. The only therapy available to patients who do not respond to front-line treatments is a uricase enzyme that breaks up uric acid crystal deposits and reduces circulating uric acid levels. However, most patients receiving uricase therapy rapidly develop anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) that clear the enzyme from circulation, compromising safety and efficacy and leaving patients without treatment options.
ProGly-Uricase is a proprietary uricase enzyme incorporating the Company’s ProGly NSAAs to prevent the emergence of ADAs and enable patients with severe, refractory gout to maintain long-term effective control of serum uric acid levels. The Series B financing enables the Company to rapidly demonstrate proof of concept for ProGly-Uricase in a clinical study of human subjects with elevated uric acid levels.
ProGly NSAAs contain sugar molecules called glycans that confer precise control over the immune response to proteins. The glycans in ProGly NSAAs educate the immune system to recognize the underlying therapy as a “self” protein rather than a foreign protein, preventing an immune response. The technology is immediately extensible to a wide array of immunogenic therapies beyond uricase. ProGly therapies are also being developed to treat and prevent autoimmune disease without broadly suppressing the immune system by conferring highly specific tolerance to disease-causing autoantigens.
“We are thrilled to partner with new investors Atlas Venture and Access Biotechnology, whose participation complements the continued support of our existing investors,” said Dan Mandell, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of GRObio. “Having proved our therapeutic approach preclinically and demonstrated scalability of our GRO platform, we have assembled the ideal team to advance GRObio to a clinical-stage company. This financing enables us to acquire valuable clinical efficacy data in gout, while expanding our platform to demonstrate the first scalable production of proteins with multiple NSAAs, including simultaneous incorporation of drug, immune recruitment, and tissue-targeting payloads.”
Kevin Bitterman, PhD, Partner at Atlas Venture, commented, “GRObio has built the industry-leading platform for discovery and production of therapeutics with non-standard amino acids. The Company has a clear and differentiated path to multiple commercial opportunities, starting with the pressing unmet need in severe, refractory gout. Atlas Venture is excited to partner with this outstanding team and to bring this revolutionary technology to the clinic.”
Dan Becker, MD, PhD, Managing Director at Access Biotechnology, added, “GRObio’s ProGly programs offer novel solutions to patients with few, if any, viable treatment options. By partnering with GRObio we look forward to bringing significant improvements in quality of life to patients in need across the full range of indications accessible to the GRO platform.”
About GRO Biosciences
GRO Biosciences (“GRObio”) is leveraging groundbreaking science to expand the amino acid alphabet and deliver on the promise of protein therapeutics. The Company is transforming treatments in diverse areas including autoimmune and metabolic diseases to improve the lives of patients. GRObio is applying its platform to advance partnered and collaborative programs, as well as its own pipeline of protein therapeutics bearing unique non-standard amino acid (NSAA) chemistries. The Company’s NSAA therapeutics feature previously unattainable capabilities including precise regulation of the immune system and unprecedented duration of action. GRObio is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
Find GRObio on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the web at grobio.com.
About Atlas Venture
Atlas Venture is a leading biotech venture capital firm. With the goal of doing well by doing good, we have been building breakthrough biotech startups for over 25 years. We work side by side with exceptional scientists and entrepreneurs to translate high impact science into medicines for patients. Our seed-led venture creation strategy rigorously selects and focuses investment on the most compelling opportunities to build scalable businesses and realize value. For more information, please visit www.atlasventure.com.
About Access Biotechnology
Access Biotechnology is the biopharma investment arm of Access Industries, a U.S.-based private holding company and investment firm. Access invests in private and public companies developing transformative therapies for conditions with high unmet needs across therapeutic areas, modalities, and development stages – from discovery-stage technology platforms to late-stage clinical programs. For more information, please visit www.accessindustries.com/biotechnology/
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Lisa DeScenza
LaVoieHealthScience
Email: ldescenza@lavoiehealthscience.com
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