The injection of capital was led by Henri Termeer, former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Genzyme, and Raj Parekh, partner of the venture capital firm Advent Life Sciences. Both scientists, Tormo and Termeer, will join the Board of Directors of Artax Biopharma.\u00a0AM Pappas and other individual investors also participated in this funding round.<\/p>\n
“The ten million dollars will be spent mainly, says Luc Marti, COO of Artax, to boost Phase Ib clinical trials (already initiated) and Phase IIa of compound AX-024, a first-in-class oral drug, which acts through a mechanism of action unexplored until now: the interaction between TCR (T cell receptors or T lymphocytes) and protein NCK, which plays a fundamental role in the activation of these cells”. The mechanism of action of AX-024 can block T cell attack on healthy tissue, while making it possible to maintain its protective functions of the immune system against infections.<\/p>\n
The new compound is the result of research led by Dr. Balbino Alarcon from the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CBMSO) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Dr. Alarc\u00f3n was the discoverer of the key role of NCK molecules and their possible use as a therapeutic target in the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, arthritis, Crohn’s disease or Lupus, among others, in which the immune system attacks the body’s own cells.<\/p>\n
“The selective inhibition of NCK is an area with huge therapeutic potential for the treatment of autoimmune diseases where Artax is leading research efforts worldwide. We are very grateful for the trust our investors have placed on this new technology and the potential of our company. They will help us to develop the full potential of our products and to make them available to patients who need them”, said Dami\u00e0 Tormo, founder and CEO of the start-up<\/em>.<\/p>\n Artax will also allocate part of the funds obtained to develop a portfolio of new molecules. Specific control of T cells through TCR opens new opportunities for the development of new compounds with the potential to become new generation immunomodulators for the treatment of a wide range of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, says Andr\u00e9s Gagete, director of R & D. Therefore, Artax has started to work on new drug candidates in collaboration with Dr. Alarc\u00f3n\u00b4s team- currently the company\u00b4s scientific director- whom will continue to work with Artax to identify additional NCK inhibitors.
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