AgomAb secures funds to support regeneration therapies

Belgium-based AgomAb Therapeutics has raised funds in a series A round to support the development of molecular therapies for the regeneration of damaged tissues.

The €21m financing round was co-led by V-Bio Ventures and Advent France Biotechnology, with participation from Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Omnes and Pontifax.

AgomAb is developing agonistic monoclonal antibody molecules that induce molecular and cellular repair mechanisms with potential for restoring organ function in fibrotic, inflammatory, autoimmune and degenerative conditions.

Founded in 2017, the company builds on the work by the University of Torino, Italy professor Paolo Michieli, whose research led to immunoglobulins with anti-fibrotic and pro-regenerative activity comparable to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF).

HGF is a pleiotropic protein that is known to possess therapeutic potential.

In alliance with Dutch drugmaker argenx, AgomAb generated a set of preclinical programmes with various applications across multiple therapeutic areas.

Paolo Michieli said: "The regenerative and anti-fibrotic potential of HGF has been known for decades, but its translation to the clinic has been challenging.

"While HGF-mimetic agomAbs maintain the full therapeutic potential of HGF, they display the excellent drug-like properties of antibodies, holding the promise for regeneration of fibrotic tissues in a variety of clinical indications."

AgomAb also exercised an exclusive licence agreement with argenx for leveraging HGF-mimetic SIMPLE Antibodies developed under the latter’s Innovative Access Program.

AgomAb board of directors chairman John Haurum said: "Anti-fibrotic regenerative stimulation of the HGF pathway is an exciting novel approach which holds promise in a range of hard-to-treat inflammatory conditions."

Register as Visitor to CPhI China 2019!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note:

To apply for becoming a contributor of En-CPhI.cn,

welcome to send your CV and sample works to us,

Email: Julia.Zhang@ubmsinoexpo.com.