A company set up to take biomedical research from academia and build companies around it has revealed its first portfolio company.
ElevateBio, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based holding company focused on cell and gene therapies, named AlloVir, formerly known as ViraCyte, as the first company in its portfolio, on Wednesday. The announcement was made in connection with a $120 million Series B funding round for the portfolio company. The financing was led by Fidelity Management and Research, with participation from Gilead Sciences, F2 Ventures, Redmile Group, Invus, EcoR1 Capital, Samara BioCapital and Leerink Partners Co-investment Fund.
Based in Houston, AlloVir is developing allogeneic cell therapies for viral diseases and is planning Phase III studies for its lead product candidate, Viralym-M, within the next 12 months. The cell therapy is being developed for six viruses commonly found in patients with compromised immune systems, namely BK virus, JC virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus. These viruses can be especially problematic in immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell or organ transplantation, as well as those with cancers, HIV or other immunodeficiency diseases.
Phase II proof-of-concept data on the therapy were published two years ago in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, by researchers at Baylor University in Houston. In the study, which included 38 patients with BK virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and human herpesvirus 6, Viralym-M produced a cumulative complete or partial response rate of 92 percent, ranging from 67 percent for human herpesvirus 6 to 100 percent for BK virus and Epstein-Barr virus. The therapy also showed a favorable safety profile, with only two cases of low-grade graft-versus-host disease, an immune reaction that often occurs with donor stem cell transplants.
ElevateBio’s business model is similar to that of another company, Palo Alto, California-based BridgeBio, launched in 2015 with a focus on genetically targeted drugs for hereditary diseases and cancers. BridgeBio’s model was developed in conjunction the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. A fund managed in part by F2 Ventures, along with EcoR1 Capital, Redmile Group and Samsara BioCapital, also participated in a $150 million Series A round for ElevateBio itself, which closed last week.
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