CA-based clinical stage biotech company Lassen Therapeutics secures $85M in series B round funding. Frazier Life Sciences co-led the financing along with new investor Longitude Capital.
The syndicate also included new investors BVF Partners and Catalio Capital Management as well as existing investors, Alta Partners and Longwood Capital. Concurrent with this financing, Brian Liu, M.D. from Longitude Capital and Matthew Hobson, Ph.D. from Catalio Capital Management have joined the Board of Directors.
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Proceeds from this financing will support the LASN01 clinical program and advance IND-enabling activities for LASN500. The clinical program for LASN01 is focused primarily in TED with a cohort in IPF in the Phase 1 program.
Lassen recently presented data using orbital fibroblast cells from TED patients demonstrating that LASN01 suppresses multiple markers associated with TED disease progression including hyaluronan production, cell proliferation, and other markers such as procollagen.
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Maria Fardis, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Lassen said, “I am very pleased with the recent advancements at Lassen, particularly in successfully concluding the Series B financing round which will facilitate the continued development of our two pipeline products, The proceeds allow us to advance LASN01 Phase 1 and 2 clinical programs and develop a subcutaneous formulation for LASN01. This antibody has significant potential as a treatment for fibro-inflammatory disorders including TED. Our data in orbital fibroblasts have been highly encouraging and paired with our Phase 1 single and multiple ascending dose safety data, support advancement of LASN01 in Phase 2 for TED.”
Brian Liu, M.D. Managing Director at Longitude Capital said, “We are very excited about Lassen and the opportunity to develop two first-in-class programs, one in fibro-inflammatory disorders and the other in cancer, along with the management team’s ability to expeditiously execute these programs in pursuit of new therapeutic options for patients, We are encouraged by the progress of LASN01, the lead program at Lassen which is entering Phase 2 and is a first-in-class antibody that binds to a novel target, an important differentiator in a broad set of fibro-inflammatory indications addressing serious unmet medical needs.”
About Lassen Therapeutics
Lassen Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company developing first-in-class antibodies as potential treatments for fibro-inflammatory disorders, such as thyroid eye disease (TED), and cancer.
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The company’s lead candidate, LASN01, is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting IL-11 receptor (IL-11R) and is currently being evaluated for the treatment of TED and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Lassen is also developing LASN500, a highly potent, first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting the IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) for cancer.
