December 18, 2014
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Autoimmune therapy biotech Padlock Therapeutics got an early Christmas present Thursday, announcing it has $23 million in a Series A financing led by perennial favorites in the life sciences sector and its patron, Atlas Venture.
Padlock was founded by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in conjunction with Atlas Venture, an early stage venture capital firm whose interest is highly coveted by biotech startups and investors alike. This first round of funding also included participation from Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., MS Ventures (the corporate venture arm of the biopharmaceutical division of Merck) and Index Ventures.
Padlock was co-founded in January 2014 by Atlas Venture and Gilman and former Scripps researchers Paul Thompson Kerri Mowen whose prior research is the keystone for all of the startup’s current science. Part of today’s deal means that Padlock has secured an exclusive license from TSRI to technology and know-how developed by Thompson and Mowen when they were at the institute, a key component that would need to be in place for future investors.
The injection is just one more sign that Genentown, or the Boston/Cambridge area, remains one of the hottest biotech neighborhoods in the world, generating billions of dollars from its life sciences companies, labs and academic research, as well as attracting the attention of biotech investors the world over.
Padlock said it would use the money to fund further research into its work with protein-arginine deiminases (PADs) and how they affect autoimmune disease. It will also put some into the advance of its pipeline of PAD-directed therapeutics.
“While the roots of this science are over 50 years old, recent advances in PAD biology and biochemistry, including work by Padlock’s scientific co-founders, have enabled us to pursue rational development of inhibitors of these enzymes for the treatment of autoimmune disease,” said Michael Gilman, founder and chief executive officer at Padlock. “Padlock hopes to take the discovery of autoimmune disease therapies in an entirely new direction with the potential to help patients currently underserved by available treatments.”
Padlock is focused on the role of PAD enzymes in generating citrullinated protein antigens and other autoantigens and proinflammatory mediators in autoimmune disease. The company hopes that by extinguishing autoantigen production instead of suppressing immune system activity, it can find new treatments for autoimmune disease that complement or surpass current therapies for diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis.
“With this financing, Padlock is poised to be the defining PAD company, using its key insights in PAD biology to address several autoimmune diseases,” said Nilesh Kumar, director of MS Ventures. “We are pleased to support Padlock‘s efforts against these promising and as yet undrugged targets.”
Padlock was incubated as part of the Atlas Venture seed program and all of its VCs appear to have their say in most aspects of the company. Bruce Booth, partner at Atlas Venture, serves as chairman of its board, while Kumar, Gilman, Marian Nakada of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, and David Grainger, of Index Ventures, are all board members. Todd Huffman TSRI, serves as the creatively named “board observer.”
Most of them were lauding the investment Thursday as a step forward for both the technology and the nascent firm.
“The PAD enzymes are among the most exciting targets out there that have yet to be modulated by drugs. Padlock has assembled a great team to put that right, and Index Ventures is delighted to support those efforts,” said Grainger, partner at Index Ventures.
“Autoantigens are active participants in the development of autoimmune disease through their role in initiating, perpetuating, and intensifying the autoimmune response,” added Thompson, currently professor and director of Chemical Biology at University of Massachusetts Medical School. “Padlock is on the forefront of developing novel drugs that can inhibit the enzymes that produce autoantigens in certain patients, which has great potential to make a difference in their lives.”
