Based on research at Johns Hopkins University, Escient Pharmaceuticals is developing treatments for serious but unserved medical needs.
Escient Pharmaceuticals, a US-based biotechnology spinout from Johns Hopkins University, launched yesterday with a $40m series A round backed by spinout-focused investment firm Osage University Partners.
The round was also backed by Column Group and 5AM Ventures.
Escient Pharmaceuticals is working on treatments for neuro-immuno-inflammatory and autoreactive diseases. Its approach relies on drugs targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which mediate cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters.
The company’s scientific founder is Xinzhong Dong, an investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor of neuroscience, neurosurgery and dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dong co-founded Escient with lain Baron, who acts as chief executive, and Marcus Boehm, who serves as chief scientific officer.
The series A funding will enable Escient to drive recruitment, advance its pipeline and move its initial preclinical candidates into clinical studies.
Robert Tjian, discovery partner at Column Group, has joined the board of directors, as have JJ Kang, prinicpal at Column Group, Andrew Schwab, founder and managing partner at 5AM, and Charles Zuker, an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Baron said: “GPCR-targeted drugs account for a large percentage of today’s best-selling medicines. And, yet, this broad success has hinged upon exploiting a relatively small set of GPCRs, leaving significant opportunity to mine the potential of numerous unexplored GPCRs, including the specific receptors we are focused on at Escient.
“We look forward to building a world-class team in the coming months dedicated to translating our proprietary insights about the functions and biology of these target GPCRs to develop novel therapies that address serious, unserved clinical needs of patients impacted by our lead indications.”
