Massachusetts biotech Abcuro has secured $155 million to take its biologic through a potentially registrational trial for a rare muscle-wasting disease and to an anticipated regulatory approval filing in 2026, CEO Alex Martin told Endpoints News .
Abcuroโs oversubscribed financing will bankroll a 76-week Phase II/III trial of the biotechโs monoclonal antibody in patients with inclusion body myositis, or IBM. The placebo-controlled trial, which begun in March, will test two doses of ABC008 that is delivered under the skin every eight weeks, medical chief Jeffrey Wilkins said in an interview.
The nine-figure financing is one of a handful of large Series B rounds to be disclosed this year as biotech funding falls well below 2021 levels. Many biotech startups and public drug developers alike have cut their pipelines and trimmed headcounts to stay afloat. Martin, who has led other biotechs to M&A exits, attributes Abcuroโs financing to
the โgreat science, good assets and strong team.โ
Abcuroโs lead indication is IBM, an autoimmune disease found mainly in adults aged 50 years and older that causes progressive muscle weakness, leading to the inability to walk and sometimes impairs hand mobility and swallowing. It is estimated that about 10 to 15 in every 1 million people have the condition, for which corticosteroids, given
for other autoimmune diseases, do not work.
ABC008 targets the killer cell lectin-like receptor G1 or KLRG1. The goal is to dwindle the cytotoxic T cells while avoiding impairment to regulatory and memory T cells.
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The cytotoxic T cells โinvade the muscle and actually eat and destroy myocytes,โ or muscle cells, Wilkins said. Abcuro believes its antibody will help tamper inflammation and โhelp the muscles be able to regenerate and decrease the chronic pathogenesis of the disease,โ the medical chief added. He noted methotrexate, rituximab and other treatments have not cleared the clinical hurdle for IBM.
Novartis had tried testing an activin and myostatin signaling blocker in IBM, among multiple other indications. The drug, dubbed bimagrumab, failed a Phase IIb/III trial in 2016 in IBM and is now in the hands of Eli Lilly via its acquisition of Versanis Bio this summer. The Big Pharma plans to combine it with its GLP-1 treatment, tirzepatide, for
obesity.
Abcuro is also testing ABC008 in a Phase I/II study in T cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia, or T-LGLL, and entering another Phase I/II trial in T and NK cell lymphomas. In T-LGLL, mature T cells attack a patientโs bone marrow and cause anemia and a deflation in low neutrophil counts.
The development path in those indications is less clear-cut than the 2026 BLA filing that Abcuro aims for in IBM. Wilkins said T-LGLL and the particular lymphomas itโs targeting are both โvery rare diseases, so weโre eager to work with the FDA to get the most efficient path possible.โ
With runway โwell into 2026,โ the 24-employee biotech doesnโt have to think about another financing for some time.
โWe think there are many potential avenues for funding, including IPO or partnerships, but when the time comes, we would explore the appropriate funding options,โ Martin said. He was previously CEO of Palladio Biosciences, acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals , and Realm Therapeutics , bought by ESSA Pharma .
Redmile Group and Bain Capital Life Sciences co-led the round. Additional investors include RA Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Sanofiโs venture arm, New Leaf Ventures, among others.
Abcuro reels in $155M, Abcuro reels in $155M
