What to Know About Pronutria Biosciences
September 29, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Pronutria Biosciences is looking to blaze a trail regulating amino acids through a new class of regenerative therapeutics. If successful, Pronutria could provide new treatment options for multiple medical conditions, including muscular, metabolic and some liver conditions.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Pronutria Biosciences launched in 2010 with an aim to unlock homeostatic biology using regenerative therapeutics with a focus on amino acid biologies. The privately held company lays claim to a proprietary library with more than one billion proteins and the capability to “select, validate and express individual proteins with precise amino acid and biophysical profiles.” Although Pronutria has yet to advance anything through the regulatory approval stage, the company has two lead products, PN-107 and PN-340, which were approved for patent in 2014.
Backed by some well-financed connections, Pronutria is looking for proof-of-concept data that has implications for a wide range of therapeutic programs—programs that might look appetizing to larger companies looking to strike developmental deals, which could yield a windfall.
The privately held company lays claim to a proprietary library with more than one billion proteins and the capability to “select, validate and express individual proteins with precise amino acid and biophysical profiles.” Although Pronutria has yet to advance anything through the regulatory approval stage, the company has two lead products, PN-107 and PN-340, which were approved for patent in 2014.
Stepping up in Competition
One drug that Pronutria could take aim at with its pipeline products is GlaxoSmithKline’s Lovaza, an omega-3-acid ethyl esters used to lower triglyceride levels. During a 2013 interview, Connelly said the company has a platform that could produce effective pharmoconutrients such as Lovaza “while maintaining a strong scientific reputation that separates it from the protein supplements hawked on TV infomercials.”
New Company Leadership
In 2014, Peter Mueller left his position as chief science officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals to take on the position of president of research and development and chief science officer at Pronutria. When Mueller joined Pronutria he said he was excited about “restoring amino acid imbalance” as a means of developing therapeutics for debilitating diseases.
Jeffrey Moore is the company’s chief financial officer. He came to Pronutria in 2011 after serving as CFO at Affinova, Inc., a privately-held innovation technology company and vice president of Finance at Flagship Ventures.
Anders Gram is the chief production and global supply chain officer. Before coming to Pronutria, Gram served as vice president of operations at Ferrosan Medical Devices where he was responsible for the company’s manufacturing and supply-chain operations.
Larry Bell serves as global head of regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance. Bell served as vice president of regulatory and pharmacovigilance at Prosensa, responsible for developing and implementing regulatory strategies for RNA-modulating therapeutics.
Christopher Wright serves as chief medical officer. Before coming to Pronutria, Wright served as an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
Company Financing
Pronutria was founded by Flagship VentureLabs with an initial funding of $22.25 million, including $10 million from Flagship. This year Pronutria has secured $67 million in funding. The company touted the financing as a means to push its pipeline through clinical trials and possibly into production. Funding has come from multiple investors, including Flagship Ventures and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
Pipeline: Current Clinical Trials
In December, Pronutria was approved for two U.S. patents for its two leading biologics platforms, PN-107 and PN-340. The patents are valid to at least 2033, and “specifically claim methods of treatment and prevention of muscle loss in a wide class of sarcopenia and cachexia conditions including anorexia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure and compositions comprising nutritive proteins having high solubility and digestibility, with desired ratios of leucine and other essential amino acids.”
Pronutria is developing new regenerative therapies to regulate amino acid biologies. Through regulating amino acid pathways, the company says its therapies will address a variety of serious diseases and medical conditions using nutritional and therapeutic approaches. The manufactured biologics are aimed at restoring cellular homeostasis and subsequently improving health.
Pronutria is advancing research and development programs in several nutritional and therapeutic areas including muscle, metabolic, neurological and liver disorders.
In 2014, the company announced two clinical trials evaluating its Pronutrein product candidates for muscle and metabolism impacts on volunteers of appropriate ages. The Pronutrein platform candidates look to identify and develop protein pharmaconutrients, protein nutrients identified in food with beneficial impact in many areas of human health, including muscle, metabolic and gastrointestinal health.
Deals and Dollars
In June 2015, Pronutria inked a deal with KineMed to use that company’s proteomics platform to evaluate Pronutria's biologics. This is the first big deal for Pronutria, but it’s certainly not the last. With its focus on amino-acid biologies, Pronutria is likely poised to ink a number of collaborative deals in the near future.
What Pronutria Watchers Should Look For
Pronutria should begin to share more clinical information on its two lead products, PN-107 and PN-340, as they begin to move through clinical trials. So far the company has been successful in securing the funding for research and development of its amino acid therapies, but current and future investors will want to hear more about the innovative products being developed by Pronutria.
This profile is part of an ongoing series here at BioSpace highlighting smaller biotech companies carving out a niche in the industry.