Newracle Genetics (CEO Kim Jong-mook), a company specializing in the development of AAV vector-based gene therapy, announced on the 3rd that it has confirmed to attract 30 billion won in investment in its second institutional investment (Series B funding). The company received 15.9 billion won in investment through its first institutional investment (Series A funding) in 2019 and has secured a total of 45.9 billion won so far.
Newracle Genetics participated in the Series A investment along with Partners Investment, Quad Asset Management, Arkane Investment, and Saehan Startup Investment, as well as Seven Tree Equity Partners, DA Value Partners, Yukyung PSG Asset Management, Withwin Investment, Ulmus Investment, SV Investment, Daily Partners, Aligned Genetics, and Linked Vision participated as Series B funding investors and announced that they completed an investment contract to issue convertible preferred stock (CPS) worth a total of 30 billion won.
Established in May 2018, Neuracle Genetics is a company specializing in the development of new AAV vector-based gene therapy drugs. It is developing gene treatments for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, chronic neuropathic pain, and cranial nerve diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
With the funds secured through Series A investment attraction, we are conducting preclinical testing of ‘NG101’, a gene therapy product for eye diseases, and will receive phase 1/2a clinical trials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 with wet age-related macular degeneration as the target indication. The clinical trial is scheduled to begin after the IND (Inclinical Investigational New Drug) approval has been received.
In September 2020, the company signed a joint development and commercialization contract worth a total of 10 billion won with Leeyeon Pharmaceutical for ‘NG101’, thereby securing a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) production partner to conduct clinical trials.
CEO Kim Jong-mook said, “If the Series A investment was to attract investment based on the potential for the AAV vector-based gene therapy business model, Series B will attract investment in major pipelines such as ‘NG101’ a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration and ‘NG201’ a treatment for neuropathic pain. “The investment was made based on independently secured patented technologies,” he explained.
Next, CEO Kim said, “Neuracle Genetics discovered AAV vector-based gene therapy candidates for two indications in just over three years and secured a promoter platform technology that shows excellent gene expression efficiency. “For our lead pipeline, NG101, the most important point is ‘how efficiently and sustainably we can produce VEGF-binding protein in the patient’s eyes,’ and this depends on the performance of the gene delivery system.”
In addition, “NG101 is applied with the highly efficient AAV gene delivery technology developed by our company, so we expect to see equivalent therapeutic effects even at a lower dose compared to competing groups. “If low doses can be used, we expect to be able to reduce the possibility of side effects caused by the administration of therapeutic substances and the unit cost of producing therapeutic agents,” he explained. He also added, “We have a very attractive marketability by developing a gene therapy pipeline that can be used for popular diseases rather than rare diseases.”
Gene therapy, which treats diseases by administering genes with expected therapeutic effects to the human body through a gene delivery system, received its first product approval in Europe in 2012, and then three products were launched in the United States in 2017 and one product in 2019. Expectations and interest in gene therapy are growing as it receives approval. In addition, gene therapy research and development companies and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) have recently been acquired by global pharmaceutical companies at high prices, predicting rapid growth in the gene therapy market.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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