Syntaxin raises £18M in third round to take acromegaly drug into clinic

Syntaxin Ltd, which is developing biopharmaceuticals that control cell secretion, has raised £18 million in new funding from Lundbeckfond Ventures, Ipsen and Seventure who joined existing investors Abingworth, SROne, LSP, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation and Quest, in the round.

The funds will enable Syntaxin to maximise the potential of its innovative Targeted Secretion Inhibitor (TSI) technology platform, and progress its lead in house programme, a treatment for acromegaly, a chronic and debilitating disease resulting from excessive secretion of growth hormone, into clinical proof of concept studies. The company has an alliance with Allergan Inc for the development of its most advanced programme, a neuronal TSI for treatment of chronic pain, which is in clinical development.

Syntaxin’s TSI platform enables the design and development of therapeutics for treating diseases where inappropriate cell secretion is a primary cause. The TSI molecules selectively bind to targeted cells to prevent secretion, can be administered locally or systemically, and offer the potential of long duration of action, ranging from weeks to months, from a single dose. The Oxford-based company says the technology platform has the potential for developing new treatments across multiple disease areas including neuropathic pain, endocrine disorders such as acromegaly, and certain types of cancers.

Melanie Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Syntaxin, said, “This financing will enable us to progress development of our lead product to treat acromegaly and to maximise the potential of our unique technology platform in collaboration with industry partners.”

Syntaxin was founded in late 2005 as a spin-out of the UK Health Protection Agency to commercialise 15 years of research in the field of bacterial toxin engineering. The company owns dominant patents and know-how in the design, manufacture and use of novel cell TSI based on engineered botulinum toxins.

TSI products are biological molecules synthesised in microbial cell culture, which selectively bind to their chosen targeted cells and become internalised to deliver endopeptidases into the cell’s cytoplasm, preventing further vesicular secretion. A single dose provides an extended duration of action from weeks to months.