Mironid, a biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD), has announced an extension of its Series A financing round, with the total amount raised by the company since inception now £35 million (USD $
New investor Roche Venture Fund has joined existing investors Epidarex Capital, Sofinnova Partners, BioGeneration Ventures, the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Enterprise and the European Investment Fund. The company will use the proceeds to progress its lead discovery programme through IND-enabling studies and to extend its patent estate.
We are looking forward to working with the management team as the lead programme moves through IND-enabling studies and towards clinical development
- David Evans from Roche Venture Fund
“With this financing and an outstanding syndicate of investors, we will continue to advance our novel drug candidates towards the clinic with the goal of developing a disease-modifying therapy for patients with ADPKD,” said Neil Wilkie, CEO of Mironid. “The financing validates our drug development strategy enabling us to transition from discovery to development of powerful new medicines for a chronically debilitating disease with presently limited treatment options.”
David Evans from Roche Venture Fund said: “We were very pleased to participate in this funding round. We were impressed by the foundational science and the team at Mironid and believe the company’s small molecules have meaningful potential to improve the lives of patients with ADPKD. We are looking forward to working with the management team as the lead programme moves through IND-enabling studies and towards clinical development.”
ADPKD is one of the more prevalent rare diseases and the most common hereditary kidney disorder. It affects over 12 million people worldwide, with 50% of patients developing kidney failure by the age of 60. The disease is caused predominantly by mutations in the PKD1 or PKD2 gene and is characterised by uncontrolled growth of fluid-filled cysts in the kidney.
Mironid’s first-in-class LoAc small molecules represent the only drug class directly targeting the cellular signal, cyclic AMP (cAMP), which is active in all stages of the disease process from initiation through to end-stage, stimulating both cell proliferation and fluid secretion. Robust in vitro and disease model data show significant efficacy across all disease endpoints, including a reduction in cyst number and kidney volume.
The ability of cAMP modulators to prevent new cyst formation and arrest the growth of existing cysts is indicative of the potential to deliver clinical benefit to all ADPKD patients. Moreover, this drug class could offer an improved side-effect profile, most importantly in reduced polyuria, which is a significant cause of poor compliance with current therapies.
