With $41.9 Million from Oversubscribed Financing Round, XyloCor Sets Sights on Gene Therapy for Heart Disease

On March 22nd, XyloCor, a Pennsylvania-based biopharma, announced it had raised almost $42 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing. The company aims to develop gene therapies to treat coronary artery disease. Their lead compound is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is caused by the narrowing or blockage of one of the major arteries that supply oxygen and nutrients to the heart. CAD killed over 365,000 people in the US in 2017 alone, and about 18.2 million adults have this disease.

One of the main ways to treat CAD is by surgically taking part of a vein or artery from a different part of the body and using it to reroute blood flow around the blockage in a procedure known as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, when using the saphenous vein for the graft, there is almost 50% of graft failure within 10 years of the procedure. Medications that can reduce the failure rate and improve vascularization are necessary.

XyloCor

XyloCor focuses on the development of gene therapies for the unmet needs of advanced coronary heart disease. Their lead therapeutic is XC001, which introduces the gene for Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in heart cells. The goal is to stimulate the creating of new blood vessels. Their second therapy, XC002, for cardiac regeneration is currently at the optimization stage of preclinical discovery.

XC001 is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of refractory angina. These patients suffer from chest pain due to poor oxygenation of the blood, they are unresponsive to medical therapy and not eligible for surgical intervention. There are no treatment options for these patients.

Raising Capital

XyloCor raised an additional $22.6 million as part of the Series A oversubscribed financing round led by Fountain Healthcare Partners. This brings the total investment in Series A to $41.9 million. All previous investors, including Sofinnova Investments and LSP (Life Sciences Partners), participated in this round and were joined by new investors Longwood Fund and Lumira Ventures.

The money will be used to fund an additional clinical trial for XC001. The trial will investigate the potential of XC001 to increase the effectiveness of coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Additionally, XyloCor announced Daniel Hétu, M.D., from Lumira Ventures, and Perry Nisen, M.D., Ph.D., from Sofinnova Investments, would join the board of directors.

“We greatly appreciate the recognition by Fountain Healthcare Partners, Longwood Fund, and Lumira Ventures of the value we have created since our initial funding and in XC001’s enormous potential for improving the lives of patients with advanced coronary disease,” said Al Gianchetti, president and chief executive officer of XyloCor Therapeutics. “With the support of our investors, we can build on the progress we have made since our initial funding to pursue, with a sense of urgency, new clinical indications where XC001 has promise for addressing unmet medical needs.”

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Author

Daniel Ojeda