Clinical-stage biotech Aplagon has announced it has closed a €4.8m ($5.6m) financing round to support its expansion into a new Phase II clinical programme in ateriovenous fistula (AVF) maturation failure in end-stage kidney disease.
Existing investors Fåhraeus Startup and Growth AB (FSG) and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund led the financing, with continued support from other Finnish investors.
Aplagon is developing APAC, a first-in-class antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy for treating thrombo-inflammatory diseases.
The therapy acts similarly to naturally occurring mast cell-derived heparin proteoglycans and travels to sites of vascular injury, delivering what Aplagon says is "sustained antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory activity where it is needed most."
The dual antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory activity of APAC also offers advantages over conventional antithrombotics used in vascular diseases driven by both thrombosis and inflammation.
To date, Aplagon has raised more than €20m through equity financing and non-dilutive funding from leading Nordic investors, including Fåhraeus Startup and Growth AB and the European Innovation Council.
Aki Prihti, CEO at Aplagon, said: "This financing represents another important milestone for Aplagon as we continue to build momentum around APAC and its potential across a broad range of serious thrombo-inflammatory diseases."
"The financing supports the expansion of our clinical development plans in Phase II in Europe for AVF, having recently filed our CTA with the EMA."
The continued backing from our experienced healthcare investors validates both the strength of our clinical progress and the growing recognition of APAC’s differentiated mechanism of action that overcomes the limits of current treatments.
Johanna Asklin, General Partner at FSG, added: "Aplagon is addressing a major unmet need in thrombo-inflammatory disease with a highly differentiated therapeutic approach that has the potential to transform outcomes across several vascular indications."
Since our initial investment, the company has continued to execute strongly, advancing clinical development while further demonstrating the broad applicability of APAC.
