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Enterprise Therapeutics has raised a substantial Series B financing round to bring its treatments for respiratory diseases into clinical development.
Enterprise Therapeutics, a British biotech, has raised £29M (€33M) in Series B from several investors including Forbion, one of the most active European life science VCs. In Enterprise, Forbion has found a replacement in its portfolio for the Dutch Dezima Pharma, a specialist in cardiovascular diseases which was bought from the VC by Amgen in 2015. The funding will be used to bring the British biotech’s technology into clinical development for treating lung diseases including cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary artery disease.
In respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis, the lungs become congested with mucus, which leads to breathing difficulties. Enterprise’s goal is to combat the underlying mechanisms of lung congestion. Specifically, the technology targets two ion channels, TMEM16 and ENaC, to increase hydration and clearance of mucus in a patient’s lungs.
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease for which no cure is currently available. Biotechs are trying to change this using different experimental approaches. For example, another British biotech is inhibiting disease-related enzymes to reduce inflammation and open up airways. In the Netherlands, another company is trying a whole new approach based on RNA technology, motivated by the CEO’s own personal relationship to the disease.
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