XyloCor's Series A Expands with Additional $22.6 Million

Privately-held XyloCor Therapeutics closed an additional $22.6 million in its oversubscribed Series A financing round that will support the development of its lead gene therapy program for patients with refractory angina, a coronary artery disease.

The additional financing, which was led by Fountain Healthcare Partners and supported by Longwood Fund and Lumira Ventures, builds on $17 million from its Series A financing round that was first announced in December. The company now has a war chest of $41.9 million that can advance its pipeline.

The new financing will enable the company to expand its Phase I/II EXACT study of XC001 in refractory angina, a chronic condition for which there are no treatment options. XyloCor dosed its first patients in this study in July. The trial includes patients who are not responding to medication and are unsuitable for coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous coronary intervention.

Additionally, the company said the funds will allow the company to expand the clinical development of XC001 to determine if the gene therapy will be an effective adjunctive option to augment the effectiveness of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). In both its initial potential indication in refractory angina, and as an adjunctive therapy for patients undergoing CABG, XC001 represents a novel therapeutic approach, Pennsylvania-based XyloCor said in its announcement.

XC001 is an investigational gene therapy designed to promote the growth of new blood vessels in the heart, with these new blood vessels bypassing diseased blood vessels and improving blood flow in the heart. XC001 deposits the gene for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in targeted heart cells. VEGF is a naturally occurring protein and it is believed that XC001 enables the heart cells to produce more VEGF, thus stimulating the creation of new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis, according to company data. XC001 has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in refractory angina.

XyloCor also has a second preclinical investigational product, XC002, in discovery stage, being developed for the treatment of patients with cardiac tissue damage from heart attacks.

Al Gianchetti, president and chief executive officer of XyloCor, thanked the companies that backed its latest financing. Gianchetti said those companies recognize the value XyloCor has created since its initial funding and in the potential of XC001 in coronary disease.

“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,” Gianchetti said in a statement.

Coinciding with the financial investment, Aidan King, managing partner and co-founder of Fountain Healthcare Partners; Daniel Hétu, managing director of Lumira Ventures; and Perry Nisen, executive partner of Sofinnova Investments have joined the company’s board of directors.

“XyloCor has created significant value with XC001 with the progress the team has achieved on clinical and CMC milestones. We are gratified that this additional capital accelerates XC001’s development and expands its potential impact to the significant unmet need among CABG patients who are at high risk for incomplete revascularization," King said in a statement.