Trefoil Therapeutics, a US-based regenerative medicine spinout of Florida State University focused on endothelial damage to the cornea, obtained $28m yesterday in an oversubscribed series A round.
Venture capital firm Bios Partners led the round, with participation from Aju IB Investment and Access Biotechnology, investment arms of industrial conglomerates Aju and Access Industries respectively.
The round also featured VC firms Hatteras Venture Partners, Correlation Ventures, ExSight Ventures and InFocus Capital Partners, along with other, unspecified existing investors.
Founded in 2013, Trefoil Therapeutics is prioritising the development of an engineered fibroblast growth factor protein, dubbed TTHX1114, that would help treat vision loss by promoting the supply of endothelial cells in the eyes.
A decrease in the number of corneal endothelial cells can deeply impair vision over time, with the main treatment prescribed at present – a surgical corneal transplant – offering highly variable results.
TTHX1114 was first discovered in the lab of Trefoil co-founder Ralph Bradshaw, a professor in the department of pharmaceutical chemistry at University of California (UC) San Francisco and professor emeritus at UC Irvine’s college of medicine.
Fellow Trefoil co-founder Ken Thomas then purified the protein, before its crystal structure was confirmed through the work of Michael Blaber, professor of biomedical sciences at Florida State’s college of medicine.
TTHX1114 has been shown to aid corneal clearing in pre-clinical models with corneal endothelial dystrophy, where depleted endothelial cells lead to swelling and clouded vision. It also demonstrated healing properties in corneal chemical injuries and the viral infection herpes keratitis.
Cash from the series A round will fund the completion of a phase 2a proof-of-concept targeting corneal endothelial dystrophy, and Trefoil will subsequently prepare for the clinic by applying for investigational new drug (IND) status in early 2020.
The spinout will also use a share of the proceeds to conduct testing of a topical TTHX1114 treatment for ulcerative cornea conditions, in support of a second IND submission anticipated in 2021.
Trefoil Therapeutics previously received $5.2m in a January 2017 “series 1” round led by Hatteras Venture Partners which included AJU IB Investment, Correlation Ventures, ExSight Capital and InFocus Capital.

Trefoil Therapeutics, a US-based regenerative medicine spinout of Florida State University focused on endothelial damage to the cornea, obtained $28m yesterday in an oversubscribed series A round.

Venture capital firm Bios Partners led the round, with participation from Aju IB Investment and Access Biotechnology, investment arms of industrial conglomerates Aju and Access Industries respectively.

The round also featured VC firms Hatteras Venture Partners, Correlation Ventures, ExSight Ventures and InFocus Capital Partners, along with other, unspecified existing investors.

Founded in 2013, Trefoil Therapeutics is prioritising the development of an engineered fibroblast growth factor protein, dubbed TTHX1114, that would help treat vision loss by promoting the supply of endothelial cells in the eyes.

A decrease in the number of corneal endothelial cells can deeply impair vision over time, with the main treatment prescribed at present – a surgical corneal transplant – offering highly variable results.

TTHX1114 was first discovered in the lab of Trefoil co-founder Ralph Bradshaw, a professor in the department of pharmaceutical chemistry at University of California (UC) San Francisco and professor emeritus at UC Irvine’s college of medicine.

Fellow Trefoil co-founder Ken Thomas then purified the protein, before its crystal structure was confirmed through the work of Michael Blaber, professor of biomedical sciences at Florida State’s college of medicine.

TTHX1114 has been shown to aid corneal clearing in pre-clinical models with corneal endothelial dystrophy, where depleted endothelial cells lead to swelling and clouded vision. It also demonstrated healing properties in corneal chemical injuries and the viral infection herpes keratitis.

Cash from the series A round will fund the completion of a phase 2a proof-of-concept targeting corneal endothelial dystrophy, and Trefoil will subsequently prepare for the clinic by applying for investigational new drug (IND) status in early 2020.

The spinout will also use a share of the proceeds to conduct testing of a topical TTHX1114 treatment for ulcerative cornea conditions, in support of a second IND submission anticipated in 2021.

Trefoil Therapeutics previously received $5.2m in a January 2017 “series 1” round led by Hatteras Venture Partners which included AJU IB Investment, Correlation Ventures, ExSight Capital and InFocus Capital.

– This article originally appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.