Chromis Successfully Secures Seed Funding From Torrey Pines Investment

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - February 25, 2016) - Chromis Therapeutics Inc., an antiviral drug discovery company, focused on the development of novel curative treatments for chronic HBV infection, announced that it has completed the initial round of $3M seed financing led by Torrey Pines Investment. The funding will advance Chromis’ innovative platform of antiviral drugs, including cccDNA inhibitors, entry inhibitors and capsid assembly inhibitors, for the treatment of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV).

“With estimated 400 million people suffering from chronic HBV infection, which is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, chronic Hepatitis B is a serious global problem,” said Jennifer Giottonini-Cayer, a Director of the Board at Chromis Therapeutics. “We are grateful to have the support of investors who share our desire to eradicate HBV and can help advance our novel drug candidates to the clinic.”

“Current available antiviral options suppress viral replication and improve patient survival but they do not eradicate the virus,” said Nikolay Savchuk, a Managing Partner at Torrey Pines Investment. “This is why Chromis’ antiviral drugs have such a significant potential, they aim at not only treating, but eradicating the HBV virus.”

Chromis’ antiviral drugs have a novel target -- HBV cccDNA (covalently closed circular DNA). HBV cccDNA formation and recycling are central to establishing and maintaining persistent infection, limiting efficacy of current antiviral treatments, as those drugs do not directly target cccDNA. Chromis’ leading HBV program is using its proprietary in vitro HBV core assembly model, superior to those currently used by others, to discover and develop small molecules that reduce or eliminate HBV cccDNA from the nuclei of infected liver cells and block the mechanisms of their re-infection. The secured funding will be crucial in allowing these novel drugs to proceed to clinical trials.

About Chromis Therapeutics, Inc.
Chromis Therapeutics is a San Diego based biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of novel curative treatments for chronic HBV infection. Chromis uses its cutting-edge proprietary drug design and discovery platform to advance multiple drug candidates to the clinic.

About Torrey Pines Investment, Inc.
Founded in 2002, Torrey Pines Investment is a specialty life-science investment company located in San Diego. Torrey Pines is investing in early and development stage assets from international pharma and biotech partners in CNS, oncology, and virology area to bring them to commercial success through pharma partnering and M&A. Torrey Pines’s bottom line is to help its portfolio companies achieve growth, build value and realize wealth.