Atalanta Therapeutics has bagged $97 million, money the biotech plans to use to launch clinical trials for its small interfering RNA (siRNA) candidates in epilepsy and Huntington’s disease.
The oversubscribed series B financing was co-led by EQT Life Sciences and Sanofi Ventures, according to a Jan. 28 release. Existing investor F-Prime Capital also joined the round, with participation from new investors Novartis Venture Fund, RiverVest Venture Partners, funds managed by abrdn, Pictet Alternative Advisors, the Mirae Asset Financial Group and the GHR Foundation.
The Boston biotech plans to submit investigational new drug (IND) applications this year asking the FDA for approval to start in-human trials for two therapies. The candidates are divalent small interfering RNA (di-siRNA) that are made to silence certain genes in the central nervous system.
One asset, dubbed ATL-201, is designed to treat KCNT1-related epilepsy, an early-onset seizure disorder driven by variants in the KCNT1 gene. The protein coding gene is widely expressed in the brain, with KCNTI mutations tied to a range of epileptic disorders.
KCNT1-related epilepsy in infants and children can cause severe and frequent seizures that aren’t able to be managed by available anti-seizure medications, according to Atalanta. The biotech’s siRNA candidate is designed to reduce KCNT1 levels and stabilize neuronal excitability, according to the company.
The other candidate, ATL-101, is a di-siRNA targeting the HTT gene in patients with Huntington’s disease.
“Importantly, this series B will support a path to the clinic for two programs for serious neurological diseases that today lack disease-modifying therapies—KCNT1-related epilepsy and Huntington’s disease—and will anchor our growing franchise of investigational medicines for Huntington’s disease,” Atalanta President and CEO Alicia Secor said in the release.
Atalanta emerged in 2021 with a $110 million series A and pacts with both Biogen and Genentech. While the partnership with Roche’s subsidiary remains intact, the Biogen deal is no longer active, with Atalanta regaining full rights to two preclinical programs that were part of the collaboration, a spokesperson told Fierce Biotech.