University of Massachusetts Medical School spinoff Apic Bio has raised seed capital from The Alpha-1 Project as it looks to develop a treatment for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency.
Apic Bio, a US-based gene therapy spinoff from University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), launched yesterday with seed funding from The Alpha-1 Project (TAP), the investment arm of non-profit organisation Alpha-1 Foundation.
Apic Bio is developing treatments for rare diseases and is initially focusing on Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency, a genetic condition that can lead to lung disease in adults and liver disease throughout a patient’s life.
The startup’s technology is based on research conducted by co-founder and chief scientific officer Christian Mueller, an associate professor of paediatrics at UMMS and a member of the university’s Horae Gene Therapy Center, and co-founder Terry Flotte.
Apic Bio’s therapies will function by reducing the mutant gene causing the disease while also augmenting a natural gene product to offset the condition. The amount invested by TAP has not been disclosed.
Mueller said: “Our data suggests this is a ‘liver sparing’ approach for gene augmentation which may exceed the therapeutic and safety margins when compared to a strict gene augmentation without gene silencing that may exacerbate the underlying liver disease.”
John Reilly, co-founder and president of Apic Bio, added: “We are grateful to TAP and A1AT investors who have supported the successful start of Apic Bio by providing the first tranche of our seed financing round allowing us to secure key intellectual property rights and operational support.
“With such strong support from the advocacy and patient community, we are confident that we will identify the right corporate partners to help us achieve our business development goals and bring this exciting new therapy to patients.”
