Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals Secures $28 Million Series A to Advance Its Non-Degrading Molecular Glue Drug Discovery Platform
June 20 2024 - 10:46AM
Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals Secures $28 Million Series A to Advance
Its Non-Degrading Molecular Glue Drug Discovery Platform
Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the discovery and
development of therapeutic drugs based on non-degrading molecular
glues, today announced the initial closings of an extension of its
Series A financing, bringing the total round to $28 Million. The
financing was led by 3E Bioventures Capital and Proxima Ventures
Ltd. with participation from Lapam Capital.
The financing will propel the progress of Rapafusyn's innovative
and diverse pipeline of macrocyclic peptide-based non-degrading
molecular glues and further enhance its internal capabilities.
Rapafusyn’s industry-leading libraries of RapaGlues™ can swiftly
produce novel chemical entities for targets that are traditionally
challenging or currently undruggable by other modalities. This
innovative breakthrough offers a promising solution for numerous
difficult-to-drug targets, paving the way for significant
advancements in drug discovery and development to address high
unmet medical needs of patients.
“Non-degrading molecular glues were previously found
serendipitously. The RapaGlue™ platform has the ability to create
non-degrading molecular glues by design”, said Dr. Jun O. Liu,
scientific founder of Rapafusyn and a pioneer whose ground-breaking
discovery of the molecular glue mechanism for FK506 and cyclosporin
A at Harvard University with Professor Stuart Schreiber and
colleagues in 1991 formed the foundation of the field of
non-degrading molecular glues.
"Our RapaGlue™ platform is primed to bring groundbreaking
therapies to patients. This innovative non-degrading molecular glue
modality integrates the benefits of molecular glues with cyclic
peptides, creating cell-permeable drug candidates. Our robust
platform allows us to tackle disease targets where other modalities
have struggled." Dr. Sean Hu, CEO of Rapafusyn, commented. “We are
very pleased to have such distinguished investors participate in
this round of financing.”
“Rapafusyn offers a new class of macrocyclic molecules that
function as non-degrading molecular glues. It can target a broad
range of membrane or intracellular targets, including those
traditionally difficult-to-drug, such as PPIs (protein-protein
interaction targets), transcriptions factors, SLCs/transporters,
ion channels and others”, said Dr. Karen Liu, a Founding Partner at
3E Bioventures. “I am excited about the platform, because for the
first time in drug discovery, we have a systematic and efficient
way to screen for small molecule modulators beyond the traditional
Lipinski rules and protein degraders popular in recent years.”
Haolin Sung, Partner at Proxima Ventures commented, “We are very
attracted by and delighted to invest in Rapafusyn’s non-degrading
molecular glue platform. It is well differentiated and, in many
ways, superior to other drug modalities in addressing challenging
or undruggable disease targets. We are also impressed by the
caliber of the Rapafusyn operating and advisory teams and are
confident in the future success of the company.”
Mr. Zhihua Yu, Founding Managing Parter of Lapam Capital added,
“By applying an innovative and well validated approach to
effectively drug a broad spectrum of challenging or undruggable
disease targets, Rapafusyn has the potential to address a major gap
and unmet need in the pharma industry. We believe in Rapafusyn’s
potential to discover transformational medicines to benefit
patients globally.”
About 3E Bioventures
3E Bioventures Capital is a life science focused VC fund,
actively investing in global leading health innovators, investing
in Biotech (new drugs, new modalities, and drug discovery
platforms) and in TechBio, the intersection of biology and
technology that can potentially disrupt old paradigms.
3E Bioventures takes on a science-driven, entrepreneur-friendly
investment philosophy by working closely with companies and
research institutions to develop drugs or products that have strong
unmet medical needs.
About Proxima Ventures
Proxima Ventures is a respected VC fund focused on investing in
innovative and disruptive medical and bio- technologies, dedicated
to serving outstanding and innovative companies with tremendous
potential for growth. Proxima Ventures is run by a highly
experienced team with proven track record in the life science
industries. The team has broad global knowledge, in-depth
experience, and an extensive industry network. Currently, Proxima
has multiple Chinese Yuan (RMB) and USD funds under its management,
investing in angel to growth stage companies. Proxima Ventures has
established a leading medical entrepreneurship ecosystem, helped
its portfolio companies connect with high-quality clinical and
industrial resources, and achieved remarkable results.
About Lapam Capital
Headquartered in Beijing, Lapam Capital is a leading healthcare
venture capital firm in China. Lapam is currently managing five RMB
(Chinese Yuan) funds and one USD fund, with more than 10 billion
RMB under management. Lapam Capital focuses on investments in early
to mid- stage fast-growing companies that have innovative
pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Its investment portfolio
currently consists of 120+ projects, of which innovative drug
therapeutics projects account for over 80%, including Betta Pharma,
RemeGen Co. Ltd., Gyre Therapeutics, Asieris Pharmaceuticals,
ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals, Binhui Biotech, Biostar
Pharmaceuticals, Eyebright Medical Technology Ltd., and many other
companies with great potential. Lapam Capital has a professional
investment team with more than 20 years of international and
domestic biopharmaceutical industry R&D and management
experience and can provide comprehensive value-added support for
the invested companies.
About Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals
Rapafusyn emerged from the laboratory of Dr. Jun O. Liu’s,
Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins
University, with a mission to develop transformational medicines to
address high unmet medical needs and enhance patient care.
The platform leverages non-degrading macrocyclic molecular glues
(RapaGlues™) to address challenging therapeutic targets.
Rapafusyn has constructed both DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) and
arrayed libraries of RapaGlues™ that form neo-PPIs to inhibit
a protein from its native activity. These compounds are rationally
designed and engineered to bind FKBP and form a ternary complex
with the disease target protein, offering a promising avenue for
modulating intricate protein-protein interactions.
RapaGlues™ have proven effective in producing innovative
chemical starting points for challenging drug targets. The
modular architecture enables SAR and subsequent optimization for
potency, selectivity, and physicochemical properties to accelerate
drug discovery and development. RapaGlues™ frequently exhibit
cell permeability directly from the starting point, enhancing their
potential for therapeutic development.
For more information, please visit rapafusyn.com or contact
Heather Lavin: hlavin@rapafusyn.com