The round was co-led by venBio Partners and Nextech Invest, with the participation of new investors Omega Funds, HBM Healthcare Investments, GV (formerly Google Ventures), WuXi AppTec Venture Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments, as well as all existing investors, Canaan Partners, Advent Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, Celgene Corporation, Osage University Partners and Henri Termeer. In addition, the company has announced that Michael Gilman, Ph. D. D. In addition to continuing to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors, he will expand his role to full-time Chief Executive Officer.
“With this financing and outstanding syndicate of investors, Arrakis will move to the next stage of realizing our vision of creating a new class of RNA-targeted small molecule or RSM medicines,” said Dr. Arrakis. Gilman’s “We have built an end-to-end platform for the discovery of RSMs by creating or adapting tools that allow us to predict and validate the structure of RNA targets, locate drug pockets, identify drug-like hits, and conduct drug chemistry programs to improve potency, selectivity, and safety. We are now operating this platform on a scale to create a pipeline of completely new RSM medicines. I’m excited to make every effort, along with the Arrakis team and our investors, to drive our discoveries into powerful new medicines for patients. “That’s right.
The proceeds from Series B funding will enable Arrakis to build a pipeline of novel RNA-targeted small molecules, with the aim of reaching clinical trials with one or more candidates. The company will focus its internal drug development oncology and genetically validated targets in other areas of the disease. In addition, the funding will enable Arrakis to continue to refine and expand its first-in-industrie RSM discovery platform, including a high-performance, comprehensive suite of computational tools, biophysical and cellular assays, and chemical libraries that are uniquely designed to develop new small-molecule RNA target drugs.
“Arrakis Therapeutics is a clear leader in the emerging field of RSM We are pleased to support their differentiated strategy for transforming the drug discovery toolkit to focus on RNA and to open hundreds of important new targets for therapeutic intervention. The deeply experienced team of Arrakis is uniquely qualified to implement this strategy,” said Richard Gaster, M. D. D. Ph, Ph. D. D. , Main at venBio Partners
“The demand for more effective and better tolerated cancer drugs is high, creating the largest and fastest growing market in healthcare. RNA is now a validated therapeutic target, and drug use of RNA with conventional small-molecule medicines can provide cancer patients with options that cannot be achieved by any other means,” said Jakob Loven, Ph.D. D. D. , Partner of Nextech Invest
In conjunction with funding for Series B, Dr. Dr. and Gaster Loven will join the Board of Directors of Arrakis
In its next stage of growth, Arrakis will use its proprietary RSM drug discovery platform to discover novel RNA-targeted small molecules and advance candidates to clinical trials. Since its inception, Arrakis has systematically reconfigured drug discovery tools for RNA targets and achieved the following:
Systematic approach to the identification and validation of druggable RNA targets, enabling the company to target multiple aspects of RNA biology; these approaches include:
Silicon tools for the identification of druggable RNA targets on a scale;
High-performance molecular biology tools to validate these targets
Multiple screening methods for the identification of traceable targets and chemical substances, including:
Screening to date of hundreds of targets;
Identification of druggable ARN binding pockets;
To derive the principles of molecular recognition of RNA
Advancement of RSM drug programs against new RNA targets and strong intellectual property, including:
Launch of four RNA target programs that encode proteins that are otherwise incontrovertible;
Chemical biology tools designed to elucidate the mechanism of action and selectivity of drug candidates;
Intellectual property rights, including new methods, compounds and targets
Arrakis Therapeutics
Arrakis Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that is pioneering the discovery of a new class of medicines that target RNA directly. The company has developed a proprietary platform to identify new targets for RNA and drug candidates for the treatment of diseases not addressed by current medicines. Arrakis is developing a proprietary pipeline of RNA-targeted small molecules (rSMs) focused on cancer and genetically validated targets in other disease areas. The company brings together scientific leaders in RNA structure, chemistry and biology, together with a highly experienced management team and the support of leading investors in life sciences. The company is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Please visit the www site Arracistx Come on,
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