CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (FoldRx) today announced it has closed a $29 million financing to advance tafamidis to market. FoldRx has completed and previously reported the positive results of a pivotal trial of tafamidis as a disease modifying therapy for TTR amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN), a progressive and life-threatening genetic neurodegenerative disease that affects thousands of patients worldwide. New investors Novo Ventures and Morgenthaler Ventures join existing investors Healthcare Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, TPG Biotechnology, Alta Partners, and Novartis Venture Funds.
“This financing is recognition of the strength of our tafamidis program and will allow us to continue advancing the development of tafamidis. We anticipate filing marketing applications in the second half of 2010,” said Richard Labaudinière, Ph.D., President and CEO of FoldRx. “With the addition of two top-tier venture firms to our already strong investor base, we believe we now have access to the resources necessary to commercialize tafamidis and build FoldRx into an independent, orphan-disease focused company.”
As part of the closing of this financing, Ralph E. (Chris) Christoffersen, Ph.D from Morgenthaler Ventures and Heath Lukatch, Ph.D from Novo Ventures will join the board of directors of FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Along with its ATTR-PN program for tafamidis, FoldRx has also advanced development of tafamidis to treat TTR amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) through Phase II, a disease which ultimately leads to heart failure. In addition, the company’s collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics (CFFT) has enabled the company to move forward in identifying novel drug candidates potentially capable of repairing the protein misfolding associated with cystic fibrosis.
About FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
FoldRx Pharmaceuticals is a development and discovery company focusing on first-in-class, disease-modifying, small molecule therapeutics to treat diseases of protein misfolding and aggregation (amyloidosis). Protein misfolding is increasingly being recognized as an underlying cause of many chronic degenerative diseases. By applying FoldRx’s proprietary expertise in protein folding and its platform for drug and target discovery, the company is building a pipeline, initially for neurodegenerative and cardiovascular conditions. FoldRx’s pipeline includes a program in advanced clinical development to treat genetic neurologic and cardiovascular disorders, Transthyretin (TTR) Amyloid Polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN) and TTR Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), and a discovery program in Parkinson’s disease and cystic fibrosis, based on its broad, proprietary, yeast-based drug discovery platform. For more information on FoldRx, please visit the company’s web site at www.foldrx.com.
Contact:
Feinstein Kean Healthcare Krystle Ficco, 617-761-6702 krystle.ficco@fkhealth.com
