Prof. Marco Colonna M.D. Join's Inflazome's Scientific Advisory Board

Distinguished scientist with deep expertise in innate immunity and its role in neurodegenerative diseases

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK): Inflazome (inflazome.com), the pioneering inflammasome company, announces the appointment of distinguished scientist, Prof. Marco Colonna M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Colonna has deep expertise and extensive experience in innate immunity. His team is responsible for the innovative discovery of Triggering Receptors Expressed on Myeloid cells (TREM), important regulators of the innate immune response. Prof. Colonna is currently investigating TREM’s link to Alzheimer’s Disease at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he has been a Professor of Pathology and Immunology since 2001.

With the appointment of Prof. Colonna, Inflazome continues to strengthen its Scientific Advisory Board, a collaboration of eminent, world renowned scientists who will work closely with the management team as Inflazome prepares to advance its lead product candidates into clinical studies later this year.

On his appointment Prof. Colonna commented: “Neurodegenerative diseases are growing at an alarming rate. A small molecule that crosses the blood brain barrier and inhibits NLRP3 in the brain has the potential to open a new exciting avenue for therapeutic intervention. I am delighted to join the Inflazome Scientific Advisory Board to help advance this potential”.

Prof Luke O’Neill, Co-Founder and CSO of Inflazome, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Marco to Inflazome’s SAB. He brings a wealth of experience in the molecular and cellular basis of innate immunity, especially in the Central Nervous System. He will bring tremendous new insights into our research and clinical programs”.

About Prof. Marco Colonna

Prof. Marco Colonna, born in Parma, Italy, received his medical degree at Parma University and completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (Cambridge, MA, USA). He became a scientific member of the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, Switzerland. Since 2001 he has been a Professor of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Prof. Colonna’s research focuses on immunoreceptors. In this field, his accomplishments include identification and characterization of the Killer cell Ig-like receptors and HLA-C polymorphisms as their inhibitory ligands, as well as the discovery of the LILR and TREM inhibitory and activating receptor families.

Through analysis of the cellular distribution of these receptors, Prof. Colonna identified plasmacytoid dendritic cells as source of IFNa/b in anti-viral responses and innate lymphoid cells that produce IL-22 in mucosae. His current areas of research include:

1) TREM2 and innate immunoreceptors in Alzheimer's disease.

2) Innate lymphoid cells in mucosal immunity.

3) Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in host defense and autoimmunity.


Prof. Colonna has published over 80 primary last-author studies in peer-reviewed journals, and holds editorial appointments for many publications, including European Journal of Immunology, Immunity, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Blood, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Human Immunology.

Members of the Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board include:

- Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin

- Prof. Marco Colonna, MD, Washington University School of Medicine

- Prof. Veit Hornung, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

- Dr. David Morris, MD, Novartis Venture Fund

- Prof. Mihai G. Netea, Nijmegen University

- Prof. Paul M. Ridker, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic and acute inflammatory conditions from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cardiovascular, liver, kidney and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration.

To advance its programs to clinical development, Inflazome recently closed a successful Series B financing of €40M / US$46M led by Forbion Capital Partners with Longitude Capital, with Series A investors, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Novartis Venture Fund, also participating.

To learn more visit: inflazome.com

Inflazome Completes €40m ($46m) Series B Financing to Develop NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibitors to Clinical Proof-of-Concept

• Financing led by Forbion, with Longitude Capital and founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners, also participating

• Funding to advance clinical trials of Inflazome’s pioneering orally-available NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor compounds in several inflammatory diseases

• NLRP3 is associated with harmful inflammation in a broad range of serious medical conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, inflammatory bowel disease, gout, osteoarthritis, liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases

Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge, U.K. : Inflazome, a pioneering inflammasome company developing small molecule drugs that block harmful inflammation, today announces the successful completion of a Series B financing round of €40 million ($46 million). The financing round was led by Forbion, with Longitude Capital and founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners, also participating.

Clinical and scientific data indicates that the NLRP3 inflammasome, a compelling biological target that regulates our innate immune response, is overactive in a broad range of serious medical conditions driven by harmful inflammation. These include neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as inflammatory bowel disease, gout, osteoarthritis, liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases; conditions often inadequately treated by current therapies.

Inflazome is developing potent and selective small-molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 inflammasome, to stop the cycle of chronic inflammation that drives such diseases. The Series B proceeds will be used to advance the Company’s first-in-class NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors into multiple clinical trials in 2019, with next-generation compounds following thereafter.

Following the completion of the financing round, Dr Marco Boorsma, a General Partner at Forbion, and Dr David Hirsch, a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital, have joined Inflazome’s Board of Directors.

Dr Matt Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented: “We are very pleased to have secured a partnership with leading EU and US investors Forbion and Longitude and additional support from our founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners. Forbion and Longitude have excellent track records of working closely with biotechs to drive R&D programs to successful clinical outcomes.”

Dr Marco Boorsma, General Partner at Forbion Capital Partners, commented: “Recognizing the important role of the inflammasome in many major diseases, we intensively screened the universe of companies active in this space. We decided to back Inflazome because of their leading position, deep understanding of inflammasome biology, foundational IP position and advanced and diversified pipeline of NLRP3 modulators. We were also highly impressed with the experience and knowledge of the Company’s Management Team and Board.”

Dr David Hirsch, Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital, added: “We’re excited by the potential of NLRP3 inhibitors and look forward to generating robust human proof of concept data with this financing.”

Inflazome Chairman, Dr Manus Rogan and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fountain Healthcare Partners, commented: “Due to the breadth of therapeutic applications, the market potential for a successful small molecule inhibitor of NLRP3 is clearly very significant. It has been exciting to have been involved in the Inflazome story since its inception and to follow our investment in one of the largest European venture capital backed financing rounds in the biotech sector this year.”

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing rally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic inflammatory conditions. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Professor Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration. For more information, please visit: inflazome.com

Inflazome: Validation of a new target in Parkinson’s Disease

Innovative research was funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation 

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK): Inflazome Ltd, (“Inflazome”) is a pioneering biotech company developing small molecule drugs that stop harmful inflammation by targeting inflammasomes. Research leading towards a potential approach to treat Parkinson’s patients was published today in Science Translational Medicine. The study was co-authored by Inflazome Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Matt Cooper with research teams at The University of Queensland, Australia, led by A/Prof. Trent Woodruff. Funding for these studies was provided by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, affecting more than 10 million people. It is characterised by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, accompanied by chronic inflammation in the brain. Inflazome has identified drugs to stop the chronic cycle of inflammation in the brain. The researchers found that the tool compound MCC950, a potent inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, given orally once a day could stop neuroinflammation. MCC950 arrested the effects of Parkinson’s in several animal models of the disease, leading to reduced brain neuron loss and higher levels of dopamine.

NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives chronic inflammation and is implicated in many diseases - from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to Asthma, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, Arthritis and the liver disease, NASH. Inflazome is developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in these inflammatory diseases by blocking the activation of inflammasomes in our immune system.

Prof. Matt Cooper, Co-founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented: “We are indebted to The Michael J. Fox and Shake It Up Australia Foundations for supporting this work. We also thank those generous individuals affected by Parkinson’s who donated samples to aid medical research. Drug companies have tried for decades to develop medicines to combat neurodegenerative diseases by blocking the many different neurotoxins and amyloids that build up in the brain as we age.”

“The problem is that if one toxin is blocked by a drug, another may still build up and cause disease. In contrast, our line of research focuses not on individual toxins, but instead on the immune cells in our brains that clear amyloid and other neurotoxins. These cells, called microglia, normally protect us from infections that can lead to encephalitis and meningitis. However, as we age our immune system can become over-activated, which leads to neuroinflammation. Over-active microglia can no longer function as efficient ‘cleaners’ of neurotoxins, but instead contribute to long-term damage in the brain.”

The progression of Parkinson’s disease was studied using brain and blood samples donated by patients for medical research. The study demonstrated a key target in microglia, called the NLRP3 inflammasome, is highly activated in Parkinson’s. The same signals produced by inflammasome activation in human brains were seen in different pre-clinical models of Parkinson’s disease. A small molecule, MCC950, prevented the progression of Parkinson’s in these animal models, leading to reduced brain cell loss, and higher levels of dopamine and motor function to effectively ‘cool the brain on fire’.

Prof. Cooper added “We look forward to progressing this research through to clinical trials using our proprietary, improved drug candidates”.

Kuldip Dave, PhD, Director of Research Programs at The Michael J. Fox Foundation said, “Inflazome has validated a promising new target for Parkinson’s therapeutics and translated that finding into a potential drug to treat Parkinson’s disease. This is a key aspect of The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s research strategy, and we look forward to their candidate drug’s continued development.”

“Shake It Up is proud and excited to be a part of the collaboration’s funding team, allowing highly-talented researchers an opportunity to create world leading breakthroughs that have the opportunity to be a game changer for people with Parkinson’s,” said Clyde Campbell, Founder and CEO of the Shake It Up Foundation.

The Science Translational Medicine paper can be found here

A link to an explainer video can be found here

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic and acute inflammatory conditions from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to Cardiovascular Diseases.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration.

To learn more visit: inflazome.com

Contacts

Inflazome:

Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development

E: j.skillington@inflazome.com

Media:

Jonathan Neilan | FTI Consulting

E: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com

Paddy Berkery | FTI Consulting

E: patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com

Inflazome Appoints Renowned Harvard Cardiologist to its Scientific Advisory Board

Prof. Paul Ridker joins Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK) | Inflazome Ltd, a biotech company developing small molecule drugs that stop harmful inflammation, today announces the appointment of Prof. Paul Ridker to Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Ridker is a leading scientific expert in cardiovascular disease and is renowned for his work on inflammation and its role in heart disease. Medical researcher and the Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, Prof. Ridker also directs the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Matt Cooper, Co-founder and CEO of Inflazome Ltd, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Prof. Paul Ridker to Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Ridker is a world-renowned cardiologist who has clinically validated the link between inflammation and heart disease. His work has been instrumental in understanding biological mechanisms of heart disease and developing therapeutic approaches to treat the disease. At Inflazome, we are dedicated to improving lives by delivering new medicines that stop inflammation. Prof. Ridker’s scientific and medical expertise will be invaluable to the development and progress of science as we expand our pipeline of novel inflammasome inhibitors into the cardiovascular disease space. Following the recent appointments of Prof. Frances Balkwill and Dr. David Morris, Prof. Ridker’s appointment complements and augments the strength of our Scientific Advisory Board, whose contributions will help us achieve our mission; to improve lives by delivering new medicines that stop harmful inflammation.”

Paul M. Ridker, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, commented: “I am pleased to be joining Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board. I believe the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a critical role in driving inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease and that orally bioavailable inhibitors may have the potential to make a significant impact on heart disease patients.  I look forward to contributing my knowledge and expertise to help achieve this goal.”

About Prof. Paul Ridker

Prof. Paul M. Ridker MD, MPH, FACC is a Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and serves as a Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Prof. Ridker specialised in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease including the role of inflammation in the disease process and the role of CRP.

Prof. Ridker’s particular areas of interest involve molecular and genetic determinants of hemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammation with a focus on "predictive medicine", early disease diagnosis, and the underlying causes and prevention of acute coronary syndromes. His research efforts are primarily supported by RO1 research grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and through philanthropic research grants from the Leducq Foundation and the Donald W Reynolds Foundation.

Prof. Ridker has been the recipient of a Clinician Scientist Award (1992-1997), an Established Investigator Award (1997-2002), and a Distinguished Scientist Award (2013) from the American Heart Association. His pioneering work on inflammation, CRP, and atherothrombosis, was also recognized by Time Magazine who named him among America's Ten Best Researchers in Science and Medicine in 2001 and as one of the "Time 100" in 2004.

In addition to his work in cardiovascular epidemiology, Prof. Ridker has been the Principal Investigator or Study Chairman of several multinational clinical trials including PREVENT, PRINCE, Val-MARC, LANCET, JUPITER, SPIRE-1, SPIRE-2, as well as the Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes Study (CANTOS) and the NHLBI-funded Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT), both designed to directly test the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis. Prof. Ridker is also Trial Chairman of PROMINENT, an ongoing study of triglyceride reduction among patients with diabetes.

Prof. Ridker is the author of over 800 original articles and 5 textbooks related to cardiovascular medicine. A frequent invited lecturer at national and international conferences, he is also a member of multiple editorial boards and co-inventor on patents filed by the Brigham and Women's Hospital that relate to the use of inflammatory biomarkers in cardiovascular disease.

Members of Inflazome’s Board of Directors include:

•                Dr. Manus Rogan, Chair, Managing Partner, Fountain Healthcare Partners

•                Dr. Matt Cooper, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer

•                Florent Gros, Managing Director, Novartis Venture Fund

•                Prof. Luke O’Neill, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer

•                Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, Independent Director

Members of the Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board include:

•                Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin

•                Prof. Frances Balkwill, Queen Mary University of London

•                Dr. Douglas Golenbock, University of Massachusetts Medical School

•                Dr. Veit Hornung, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

•                David Morris, MD, Novartis Venture Fund

•                Prof. Mihai G. Netea, Nijmegen University

•                Paul M. Ridker, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

About Inflazome

Utilising the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the inflammasome, which is now thought to drive many chronic inflammatory conditions.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration. inflazome.com

Founding investors are Fountain Healthcare Partners (Dublin, Ireland) and Novartis Venture Fund (Basel, Switzerland).

About Fountain Healthcare Partners

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with €176 million ($200 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. fh-partners.com 

About The Novartis Venture Fund

The Novartis Venture Fund (NVF) manages over $700 million in committed capital. NVF invests in companies that have the potential to change a core therapeutic field or explore new business areas that will be critical to patient care. NVF’s primary interest is in the development of novel therapeutics and platforms as well as medical devices, diagnostics, and delivery systems. The Funds invest for financial objectives at all stages, but prefers to invest in the early-stages of company development. With investment professionals located in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, MA the team has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and venture capital. nvfund.com

Contacts:

Inflazome

Dr. Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development | j.skillington@inflazome.com | +353 1 679 8591
Ruth Neale | Communications and Outreach |r.neale@inflazome.com  | +44 1223 751549

Inflazome Appoints Renowned Scientific, Industry & Clinical Experts

-   Prof. Frances Balkwill, OBE FMedSci, and Dr. David Morris join Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board
 
-  Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of UCB, appointed to Inflazome’s Board of Directors

 
Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK):  Inflazome Ltd, the biotech company developing small molecule drugs that stop harmful inflammation, today announces the appointment of three leading scientific, industry & clinical experts to its Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors.
 
Prof. Frances Balkwill, OBE, FMedSci, a scientific expert in cancer biology joins Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board from Queen Mary University of London, where she leads the Centre for Cancer and Inflammation. With a clinical, scientific background and extensive operational experience, Dr. David Morris also joins the Scientific Advisory Board from Novartis Venture Fund. Furthermore, Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of global biopharma company UCB, based in Brussels, Belgium, has been appointed to Inflazome’s Board of Directors as an Independent Director, following a distinguished career in Novartis.
 
Dr. Matt Cooper, Co-founder and CEO of Inflazome Ltd, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome these renowned and accomplished experts to Inflazome. Prof. Balkwill’s knowledge of translating cancer biology and its links to inflammation will progress the development of anti-inflammatory drugs in the field of oncology. Dr. Morris’s and Dr. Patel’s experience and guidance will be instrumental as we transition Inflazome’s research programmes into clinical development and expand our pipeline of novel inflammasome inhibitors. These appointments significantly augment Inflazome’s senior advisory team and their contributions will help us towards achieving our mission; improving lives by delivering new medicines that stop harmful inflammation.”
 
Prof. Frances Balkwill, OBE FMedSci, commented: “I’m excited to join Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board and contribute to their outstanding scientific underpinnings. Understanding the role inflammasomes play in driving tumour progression could deliver innovative cancer therapies from Inflazome’s portfolio of potent and selective NLRP3 inhibitors.”
 
Dr. David Morris, Novartis Venture Fund, commented: “Inflazome is attacking harmful inflammation which causes many of our most challenging medical conditions today. I‘m pleased to join the Scientific Advisory Board to help steer the company forward to develop potential new and necessary treatments for patients.”
 
Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, UCB, commented: “I’m excited to join Inflazome’s Board of Directors to help guide Inflazome’s pipeline of drugs that target aberrant, innate immune system activation. The company has an advanced portfolio of potent drug leads and drug candidates, led by an accomplished management team with a wide range of expertise and capabilities.”
 
About Prof. Frances Balkwill
Prof. Frances Balkwill OBE FMedSci is Professor of Cancer Biology at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London where she leads the Centre for Cancer and Inflammation. She studies the links between cancer and inflammation, with a special interest in translating knowledge of cancer biology into new biological treatments for cancer, the role that inflammatory cytokines play in cancer promotion and novel ways of modelling the human tumour microenvironment. Prof. Balkwill runs a research centre of approximately 30 scientists, postgraduate students and clinicians. She is an author on 250+ scientific papers and reviews and has written and edited a number of academic books on her subject. In 2006, she was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and has served on its Council.
 
About Dr. David Morris
Dr. Morris joined Novartis in Basel in 2009 and has held multiple positions within the organization including the Development Franchise head for Respiratory and Primary Care. His team were responsible for the clinical development, regulatory approvals and lifecycle management of multiple Novartis medications including new treatments for serious respiratory diseases (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pulmonary hypertension) and diabetes. He also held overall responsibility for global clinical operations, quantitative sciences, digital innovation, development informatics, and global clinical research capabilities development for Novartis Global Drug Development. In September 2016, he transitioned to the Novartis Venture Fund to leverage his basic and clinical scientific background and operational experience to better speed the discovery and development of new medicines by working closely with external entrepreneurs and venture backed start-ups.
 
About Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel
Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel joins Inflazome as an Independent Director on the Board of Directors. Dr Patel brings extensive experience in drug discovery in industry. During a 10 year career in Novartis, he led Research in Europe and the Autoimmunity, Transplantation and Inflammation Disease Area which contributed to the registration of several leading drugs in multiple indications. Dr Patel has most recently been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, UCB, the global biopharmaceutical company.
 
Members of Inflazome’s Board of Directors include:
•             Dr. Manus Rogan, Chair, Managing Partner, Fountain Healthcare Partners
•             Dr. Matt Cooper, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
•             Florent Gros,  Managing Director, Novartis Venture Fund
•             Prof. Luke O’Neill, Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer
•             Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, Independent Director
 
Members of Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board include:
•             Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin
•             Dr. Douglas Golenbock, University of Massachusetts Medical School
•             Prof. Veit Hornung, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
•             Prof. Mihai G. Netea, Nijmegen University
•             Prof. Frances Balkwill, Queen Mary University of London
•             Dr. David Morris, Novartis Venture Fund
 
About Inflazome
Utilising the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the inflammasome, which is now thought to drive many chronic inflammatory conditions.
 
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration. inflazome.com
 
Founding investors are Fountain Healthcare Partners (Dublin, Ireland) and Novartis Venture Fund (Basel, Switzerland).
 
About Fountain Healthcare Partners
Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with €176 million ($200 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. fh-partners.com
 
About The Novartis Venture Fund
The Novartis Venture Fund (NVF) manages over $700 million in committed capital. NVF invests in companies that have the potential to change a core therapeutic field or explore new business areas that will be critical to patient care. NVF’s primary interest is in the development of novel therapeutics and platforms as well as medical devices, diagnostics, and delivery systems. The Funds invest for financial objectives at all stages, but prefers to invest in the early-stages of company development. With investment professionals located in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, MA the team has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and venture capital. nvfund.com
 

Contacts:

Inflazome
Dr. Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development | j.skillington@inflazome.com | +353 1 679 8591

Media
Jonathan Neilan | FTI Consulting | jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com | +353 1 765 0886
Patrick Berkery | FTI Consulting | patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com | +353 1 765 0884

Inflazome closes a $17m Series A round from Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners to develop treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases

September 12, 2016 -- Dublin, Ireland -- Inflazome (inflazome.com) has successfully closed a Series A financing round for up to USD$17 million / €15 million. Two leading life sciences venture capital firms, Novartis Venture Funds and Fountain Healthcare Partners, co-led the financing. 

Inflazome is developing inhibitors of the inflammasome, a compelling biological target that regulates our innate immune response, now associated with a wide variety of diseases. Following the closure of the financing round, Florent Gros (Managing Director of Novartis Venture Fund), and Dr Manus Rogan (Co-Founder and Managing Director at Fountain Healthcare Partners) joined the Board of Directors.

Commenting on the launch of Inflazome, Dr Matt Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Inflazome, stated “inflammasome activation is now implicated in many diseases driven by chronic inflammation, from Parkinson’s to Asthma.  These conditions are often inadequately treated by current therapies.  We want to help people with debilitating diseases facing limited or no treatment options.”

Prof. Luke O’Neill Co-Founder and CSO added, “animal models and clinical data suggests there is tremendous opportunity to stop the cycle of chronic inflammation in a range of diseases. We believe that targeting the inflammasome has tremendous potential for a wide range of inflammatory diseases where current treatments are inadequate.”

Dr Manus Rogan, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fountain Healthcare Partners said “Considering the breadth and depth of possible applications, the commercial potential for a successful small molecule inhibitor of this key target is clearly in the billions of dollars range.”

Florent Gros, Managing Director at Novartis Venture Fund said,  “We have searched extensively for inhibitors of the inflammasome. We are very excited by Inflazome's prospects; the company has outstanding assets, expertise and capabilities.”

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the inflammasome, which is now thought to drive many chronic inflammatory conditions.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration. Joining the founding management team as VP of Business Development is experienced industry executive, Dr. Jeremy Skillington, formally of Genentech.

About Fountain Healthcare Partners

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with €176 million ($200 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. fh-partners.com

About The Novartis Venture Fund

The Novartis Venture Fund (NVF) manages over $700 million in committed capital. NVF invests in companies that have the potential to change a core therapeutic field or explore new business areas that will be critical to patient care. NVF’s primary interest is in the development of novel therapeutics and platforms as well as medical devices, diagnostics, and delivery systems. The Funds invest for financial objectives at all stages, but prefers to invest in the early-stages of company development. With investment professionals located in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, MA the team has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and venture capital. nvfund.com

Founding investors are Fountain Healthcare Partners (Dublin, Ireland) and Novartis Venture Fund (Basel, Switzerland).

To learn more visit: www.inflazome.com

Contacts

Inflazome: Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development | j.skillington@inflazome.com

Media: Jonathan Neilan | F T I Consulting | jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com