Funds will be used for advancing Company’s novel therapeutic pipeline and enhancing its unique microbiome modulation platform technologies
NESS ZIONA, Israel, May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
BiomX Ltd., a leading microbiome therapeutics company, announced today that it has successfully secured $24 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by OrbiMed, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. and Takeda Ventures, Inc. with participation from Seventure Partners, MiraeAsset, SBI Japan-Israel Innovation Fund and other European investors. Proceeds from the round will be used to advance the Company’s novel therapeutic pipeline towards clinical stages and to continue enhancing its proprietary microbiome modulation platform technologies. BiomX, previously named MBcure, was founded in the FutuRx Ltd. incubator, with the support of the Israel Innovation Authority.
“We are fortunate to have such exceptional strategic investors support us and our vision of developing novel therapies for unmet medical needs based on our proprietary understanding and modulation of the microbiome,” stated Jonathan Solomon, CEO of BiomX. “We are committed to utilize our technological capabilities for the accelerated development of our pipeline towards clinical stage products.”
BiomX focuses on developing novel therapeutics to alleviate human diseases stemming from dysbiosis of the microbiome. The Company offers a complete end-to-end solution from target discovery to development of therapeutic compounds, with flexible capabilities to precisely modulate the microbiome and restore microbial balance through adding or eradicating bacteria with both native and synthetically altered phages (viruses that attack bacteria). BiomX’s microbiome modulation technologies are based on the pioneer science and research of its scientific collaborators: Professor Rotem Sorek, PhD and Dr. Eran Elinav, MD, PhD both of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Professor Timothy K. Lu, MD, PhD of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Company’s therapeutic pipeline consists of products for the treatment of acne, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), cancer, and therapeutics that modulate the microbiome for improved performance of immuno-oncology drugs.
Anya Eldan, General Manager, Start-Up Division, Israel Innovation Authority, commented, “The Israel Innovation Authority’s support of risky early-stage projects with large potential enables establishment of such a promising company at the forefront of delivering microbiome therapeutics.” Einat Zisman, PhD, CEO of FutuRx, added, “This investment reflects FutuRx’s role in establishing and supporting start-up companies that turn break-through technologies into innovative therapeutics. Such support enables FutuRx’s portfolio companies to build strategic collaborations and compete in the global market.”
Gil Granot Mayer, CEO of Yeda, the commercialization arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, responded, “This is yet another example of the scientific excellence that prevails at the Weizmann institute of Science and of the ability of Yeda to effectively commercialize this scientific excellence towards life-changing products.”
About The Microbiome
The microbiome, all the bacteria that reside in and on the human body, is an exciting and fast-developing new field at the interface of pharmaceuticals and nutrition, offering abundant opportunities for developing new medicines. The composition of bacteria forming the microbiome, mainly gut bacteria, has been linked to various health conditions, from acne and allergies, through gastrointestinal ailments, obesity and cancer. The multitude of biological processes and indications affected by the microbiome make the bacteria in the human microbiome critical to health, yet the microbiome’s diversity presents a challenge for identifying specific targets and developing new medicines to treat imbalance of the microbiome.
About BiomX
BiomX discovers and develops innovative microbiome therapeutics. The Company’s mission is to develop novel therapeutics for preventing and treating diseases in which microbiome imbalances have been implicated. BiomX’s microbiome modulation technologies are based on the cutting-edge innovative research of its scientific collaborators: Professor Rotem Sorek, PhD and Dr. Eran Elinav, MD, PhD both of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Professor Timothy K. Lu, MD, PhD of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For additional information, please visit http://www.biomx.com.
Company contact:
Assaf Oron
Chief Business Officer
BiomX
+972-54-2228901
assafo@biomx.com
Media contact:
Tsipi Haitovsky
Global Media Liaison
BiomX
+972-52-5989892
tsipih@biomx.com
