BlackThorn Therapeutics, a clinical phase biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops targeted treatments for neurobehavioral disorders, announced the closing of the $40 million Series A funding Funding was led by the founding investor ARCH Venture Partners and supported by Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc. , along with Altitude Life Science Ventures, Mercury Fund, Alexandria Real Estate Equity and an undisclosed crossover fund.
Founded in collaboration with leading research institutions and a world-class roster of scientific consultants, BlackThorn aims to be the leading company in the field of neurobehavioral health.
‘Academic research in the field of neurobehavioral disorders has provided sophisticated methods for brain disease assessment. BlackThorn is dedicated to putting into practice this new and modern drug discovery and development framework that applies scientific rigor and capital efficiency,” said Mark Corrigan, M. D. D. Chief Executive Officer of BlackThorn ‘We intend to lead the change in the treatment paradigm by investing in the validation and standardization of new technologies that will not only advance our own drug development platform and pipeline, but ultimately help the growing patient population suffering from imprecise and inadequate treatment options. ”
BlackThorn is committed to building a robust portfolio of first and best-in-class treatments by leveraging recent advances in neuroscience. The company’s lead program will evaluate BTRX-246040, the first-in-class nociceptin receptor antagonist (NOPR), a target linked to multiple neurobehavioral disorders. The compound is currently entering phase 2 clinical trials and is conducting a small molecule program pipeline. The development of BTRX-246040 as well as the rest of the BlackThorn portfolio is enabled by the INFORMTM platform of the company. INFORM promotes the discovery and development of targeted treatments by linking brain physiology to behavior using advanced functional imaging and objective assessment tools that quantify emotion, behavior and cognition while relying less on traditional qualitative clinical observations.
‘BlackThorn’s management team and board are highly respected and experienced, with a solid record of scientific excellence and commercial success at CNS,’ said Kristina Burow, managing director at ARCH Venture Partners. ‘With the enormous need for new thinking in the development of CNS drugs, BlackThorn aims at nothing less than developing new treatments fueled by understanding brain physiology and its relationship to neurobehavioral disorders to transform the lives of patients and their families. ”
Deep CNS Experienced Management Team Expertise
BlackThorn is currently being led by Dr. Corrigan, formerly Chief Executive Officer of Zalicus and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Sepracor, has developed three marketed drugs, including Lunesta®. He’s the director of CoLucid, Cardiome, Quartet, and Nabriva.
Other members of BlackThorn’s senior management team include:
Bill Martin, Ph.D. D. D. , Chief Scientific Officer, who previously worked at Theravance Biopharma, where he was Executive Director, leading teams of scientists in the field of discovery and development in multiple therapeutic areas, including neuroscience.
Annette Madrid, D. D. Chief Medical Officer, who served as Chief Medical Officer of Balance Therapeutics and Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Scott Forrest, Ph.D. D. D. Vice President of Operations and Corporate Development, formerly Vice President of Business Development at the Scripps Research Institute, where he was responsible for all business partnership activities.
BlackThorn’s leadership team is complemented by an experienced Board of Directors Dr. Joining Corrigan and Kristina Burow are John MacPhee, currently Chief Executive Officer of The Jed Foundation and Director of Adamas Pharmaceuticals, who led Celexa® and Lexapro® as Vice President of Forest Laboratories; and Asish Xavier, Ph.D. D. D. Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc. who has invested in more than 20 healthcare companies
World-class Researchers and Thought Leaders As Scientific Advisors
The founding scientific team of BlackThorn includes Edward Roberts, Ph.D. D. D. Hugh Rosen, M. D. D. Ph, Ph. D. D. The Scripps Research Institute, which previously co-founded Receptos (acquired by Celgene for $7). 8 billion) and are jointly responsible for seven marketed drugs and multiple drug candidates in advanced development
A distinguished scientific advisory board is chaired by co-chairs Steven Hyman, M. D. D. , Director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research and Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, and Matt State, M. D. D. Ph, Ph. D. D. Chair of the Department of Psychiatry of the UCSF and Director of the Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute.
Dr. Thomas Daniel, M D. D. , the most recent president of research and early development at Celgene Corporation, serves as the team’s senior consultant.
New understanding of cerebral disorders
Historically, neurobehavioral disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and schizophrenia have been described in broad categorical terms; however, these categories do not necessarily represent disease pathology. Advances in neuroscience allow researchers to understand the underlying physiology of each disorder and, as a result, identify specific patient subpopulations that can be targeted. The ability of segmented patients will allow for more accurate and cheaper clinical trials with novel, targeted treatments that directly modulate brain physiology responsible for neurobehavioral health.
BlackThorn Therapeutics, Inc.
BlackThorn Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of people with neurobehavioural disorders through the discovery and development of novel, targeted treatments. BlackThorn is building a robust pipeline of first-and best-in-class treatments and is redefining the industry’s approach to drug discovery and development through its INFORMTM platform, which links brain physiology and its relationship to behavior. With its network of collaborations with leading academic investigators, BlackThorn is developing and deploying a set of technologies that will enable targeted, rapid, resource-efficient translational studies for drug development. The company is located in South San Francisco, California. Visit http://www for more information. Blackthornx Come on,
ARCH Venture Partners
ARCH Venture Partners, one of the largest early-stage technology venture companies in the U. Oh, S Investing in seed and early-stage advanced technology companies ARCH is particularly recognized as a leader in the commercialization of technologies developed in academic institutions, corporate research laboratories and national laboratories. ARCH has earned a reputation as one of the leading early-stage biotech, advanced materials, alternative energy and specialty semiconductor ventures, and is known for early identification and capitalization of key trends in disruptive technology. Now in its 30th year, ARCH has over $2 billion in committed capital through nine venture funds and has co-founded and provided initial investments to over 200 companies, including Illumina, Juno Therapeutics, Receptos, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, Ikaria and Agios Pharmaceuticals.
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