Xention Ltd, a Cambridge-based company specialising in the discovery and development of ion channel-modulating drugs, has closed an £8 million fourth round funding, attracting new investor Seroba-Kernel Life Sciences Ltd. The existing investors Forbion Capital Partners, Crédit Agricole Private Equity, MVM and BTG International all followed on.
The company will use the new money to advance its programmes in the heart condition atrial fibrillation to clinical proof-of-concept. The work focuses on two ion channel targets against which Xention has developed a pipeline of selective, novel compounds that are in clinical and pre-clinical development. “We have proven that our technology allows us to discover and develop drug candidates which act on ion channels, an important yet under-exploited class of targets.” said Tim Brears, CEO. “These funds will allow us to further develop and advance our programmes in atrial fibrillation, an area of substantial unmet medical need.”
Atrial Fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac rhythm disturbance, occurring in between 1 and 2 per cent of the general population. It confers a five-fold risk of stroke, with one in five of all strokes being attributable to atrial fibrillation.
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