Apcintex is treated to $17.5m series A

Apcintex, a haemophilia-focused drug developer spun out of Cambridge University, received £14m ($17.5m) in series A capital yesterday in a round co-led by Touchstone Innovations, the commercialisation firm spun out of Imperial College London.

The round was co-led by Medicxi, a VC firm managing a €210m ($225m) fund backed by pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson. Cambridge Enterprise, the university’s tech transfer office, also contributed cash.

Apcintex is working on a drug that can be used to treat patients suffering from any type of haemophilia. Patients currently rely on regular intravenous administration of the missing clotting factor, but the therapy is not entirely effective and approximately a quarter of patients develop a resistance to it.

The spinout’s treatment reduces the activity of an anticoagulant pathway to lead to normal blood clotting. The therapy could be administered through a simple injection every few weeks and would have the added benefit of not provoking the aforementioned resistance in patients.

Apcintex’s approach is based on research conducted by Jim Huntington, professor at Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, and Trevor Baglin, consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals.

Baglin said: “Bearing in mind that the majority of people in the world with haemophilia have no access to effective therapy, a stable, easily administered, long-acting, drug that can be used in all patients, regardless of the type of haemophilia, could bring treatment to a great deal many more people who suffer from haemophilia.”

Dani Bach, director of healthcare ventures at Touchstone Innovations, said: “We are delighted to be supporting this funding round which is in many ways a classic example of our model; backing outstanding research which has the potential to translate into differentiated products for patients in a substantial global market.

“Haemophilia is a life-threatening condition but it has not seen significant medical advances in decades. The requirement for frequent intravenous infusion challenges compliance and compromises efficacy and safety, particularly in children under five.

“We believe that Apcintex has the potential to provide a better alternative. The Apcintex treatment could effectively treat patients with all forms of haemophilia without the risk of inhibitor formation.  It is a product that has the potential to transform the lives of patients and provide cost savings for healthcare providers.”