- Proceeds to advance development of Tildacerfont in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and other indications
- Existing Investors Novo Holdings and RiverVest Venture Partners support the deal with new Investors HealthCap Partners, Rock Springs Capital, Aisling Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and Sands Capital joining the syndicate
Spruce Biosciences today announced it has raised $88 million in Series B financing co-led by Omega Funds and Abingworth and supported by existing investors Novo Holdings and RiverVest Venture Partners, as well as new investors HealthCap Partners, Rock Springs Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Aisling Capital and Sands Capital. Spruce is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases. The proceeds will be used to further fund the clinical development of the company’s lead product, tildacerfont, in classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and other conditions.
Tildacerfont, a second generation CRF-1 receptor antagonist, is the first non-steroidal molecule to demonstrate an ability to normalize elevated androgens in patients with CAH in clinical studies. With the closing of the financing, Spruce will evaluate the ability of tildacerfont to reduce glucocorticoid (GC) steroid usage and improve clinical outcomes in a late-stage clinical program in adults with CAH. In addition, the company plans to complete proof-of-concept trials in the pediatric population.
“We are impressed with the potential for tildacerfont to become the first approved treatment for patients with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia around the world, as well as the encouraging positive results recently announced from its Phase 2 clinical trial. This drug could be a life-altering therapy for patients with CAH,” said Dina Chaya, Advisor to Omega Funds. Bali Muralidhar, Partner at Abingworth commented, “We look forward to working with the Spruce team, and our distinguished syndicate of investors, to build an exciting business and advance Spruce’s product development through key inflection points for the benefit of patients.”
“The potential utility of tildacerfont, as well as an interest in broader rare endocrine disorders, has attracted a strong group of investors. We are thrilled to partner with these highly respected investors, who have a track record in backing the most promising science and a history of successful biopharmaceutical company development,” said Richard King, President and CEO of Spruce Biosciences. “I look forward to leading our highly experienced management team as we advance the development of tildacerfont in CAH and other indications for the benefit of this underserved patient population.”
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“Existing treatment for CAH is limited to chronic glucocorticoid replacement, and is often unsatisfactory, resulting in many patients continuing to suffer from excess androgen production and high GC exposure,” said Wiebke Arlt, M.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.P., F. Med.Sci., Director of the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research at the University of Birmingham, UK. “In addition to addressing these unmet needs in CAH, tildacerfont’s mechanism of action could also be relevant in patients suffering other abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, including non-classic CAH, Cushing’s Disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome.”
“There is a high unmet need for safe and effective new therapies to treat CAH,” said Phyllis Speiser, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, NY. “We look forward to working with Spruce as the company advances its clinical programs in pediatric patients with CAH.”
Source: BioSpace