Eleven
Biotherapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on translating
breakthrough discoveries from science and medicine to engineer and
develop innovative protein-based therapeutics, announced today it has
completed a $35 million Series A financing co-led by Flagship
Ventures and Third
Rock Ventures. Proceeds from the financing will be used to build the
research and development and business development teams for Eleven
Biotherapeutics, in addition to advancing the company’s portfolio of
engineered proteins through clinical proof of concept.
“Combining these strategies allows Eleven
Biotherapeutics to engineer protein therapeutics to create a full
pipeline of products that address unmet needs and outperform other
therapies for a variety of diseases, such as inflammatory conditions and
coagulation disorders”
Strong Scientific Foundation
Eleven was founded by Flagship Ventures, Third Rock Ventures and leading
scientific experts Reza Dana, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc. (Harvard), K.
Christopher Garcia, Ph.D. (Stanford), Gregory Verdine, Ph.D. (Harvard),
Casey Weaver, M.D. (University of Alabama), and K. Dane Wittrup, Ph.D.
(MIT). The company’s scientific foundation is based on recent
breakthroughs in protein engineering and structural biology. By
harnessing improved structural understanding of the functions of
individual protein domains and the maturation of several technologies
for protein design, Eleven will take a “medicinal chemistry-like” approach
to the development of protein-based therapeutics. The company’s initial
focus includes developing products to treat inflammatory conditions and
coagulation disorders.
“This is a very exciting time within the molecular biology community.
The combination of new understanding of cellular and molecular processes
with new, highly sophisticated technologies for protein manipulation
provide unprecedented opportunities to target specific aspects of
disease processes,” said Prof. Wittrup. “We can now offer hope for
promising new ways to treat disease.”
Dr. Weaver commented, “Rapid advances in our understanding of processes
that govern autoimmunity, such as the contributions of the Th17 pathway
and its associated cytokines to inflammatory disorders, have presented
new opportunities for treatment of immune-mediated diseases. Eleven
Biotherapeutics is well positioned to take a leading role in
structure-based design and development of biologics that target key
molecules of this pathway.”
“Over the past several years, we have evolved our understanding of
cytokines and how they interact with various receptors to produce
inflammatory and other responses that lead to disease,” said Dr. Garcia.
“Eleven
Biotherapeutics is uniquely positioned to translate this new
understanding into potential therapeutic interventions to provide
improved treatments for a range of diseases.”
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