Nuvig Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing novel immunomodulatory therapeutics for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases, announced today the closing of a $161 million Series B financing.
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The financing was co-led by Sanofi Ventures, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities (formerly Cowen Healthcare Investments), and Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from new investors, B Capital, Leaps by Bayer, Global BioAccess Fund, LOTTE Holdings, Alexandria Venture Investments, and funds managed by abrdn Inc., and existing shareholders, Novo Holdings A/S, Platanus, Bristol Myers Squibb, Digitalis Ventures, and Mission BioCapital.
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“We are delighted to partner with additional high-caliber investors. Their scientific and strategic perspectives will support our efforts to diversify our pipeline and bring potentially transformative medicines to patients,” said Pamela Conley, Ph.D., Cofounder, Chief Scientific Officer, and founding Chief Executive Officer of Nuvig Therapeutics.
Nuvig aims to deliver novel methods for reducing autoimmune dysregulation without immunosuppression. Lead candidate NVG-2089, a first-in-class, recombinant, Fc fragment immunomodulator, is engineered to bind type II Fc receptors and engage an endogenous regulatory mechanism that improves autoimmune dysregulation. The proceeds from the Series B financing will support clinical proof-of-concept studies for NVG-2089 and advance Nuvig’s preclinical pipeline. The company is progressing NVG-2089 to Phase 2 clinical development in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and other undisclosed indications for which there is high unmet need for non-immunosuppressive, efficacious new therapies.
Dosing in the Phase 1 study for NVG-2089 has been completed. In Phase 1 single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) studies, NVG-2089 was safe and well-tolerated, the pharmacokinetic data were dose proportional, and pharmacodynamic data demonstrated target engagement. The positive results from Phase 1 support the progression of NVG-2089 to Phase 2 studies across multiple indications.
In conjunction with the financing, Paulina Hill, Ph.D., Partner at Sanofi Ventures, Tim Anderson, Managing Director at Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, and Tiba Aynechi, Ph.D., General Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, joined Nuvig’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Hill said, “Nuvig Therapeutics’s innovative and immunomodulatory approach to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases is well aligned with Sanofi Ventures’ development and investment philosophy. We are impressed by the detailed progress performed by the accomplished team of scientists and executives at Nuvig. They have not only demonstrated powerful anti-inflammatory effects of their lead candidate NVG-2089 without immunosuppression but have also created a reproducible and scalable recombinant method of recapitulating the effects of IVIg without the downsides and supply limitations of IVIg.”
Mr. Anderson added, “We are happy to be a partner to Nuvig on the Series B financing and are very pleased with the recent advancements at Nuvig. In particular, we are excited about Nuvig’s ability to demonstrate that the specific biology of NVG-2089 is engaging the relevant mechanistic pathways in early clinical studies and look forward to further advancing NVG-2089 in the clinic in indications where Nuvig can offer significant advances in safety and efficacy.”
Dr. Aynechi concluded, “We are pleased to support Nuvig’s continued progress towards delivering powerful and safe immune-modulating therapies in autoimmune therapeutic areas where there is significant unmet need. We believe that NVG-2089 has life-changing potential for patients who otherwise have limited treatment options, and Nuvig’s platform programs show promise for applications across a wide range of autoimmune diseases.”
In addition, Nuvig also appointed as independent members of the Nuvig Board of Directors: Ciara Kennedy, Ph.D., founder, President, and CEO of Sorriso Pharmaceuticals, and James Mackay, Ph.D., who most recently was the founder, President, and CEO of Aristea Therapeutics and currently serves as the founder and CEO of Kateran Consulting.
About Nuvig Therapeutics
Nuvig Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is advancing an innovative and transformational pipeline of novel immune therapeutics for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The Nuvig Therapeutics’s lead investigational drug candidate, NVG-2089, is an engineered Fc fragment designed to precisely target type II Fc receptors. When NVG-2089 binds to its target, it upregulates the expression of FcgRIIb and causes the expansion of T regulatory cells and the downregulation of numerous inflammatory pathways. Nuvig Therapeutics is based in Menlo Park, California.
