Cross-section of kidney (National Library of Medicine)
AlloCure Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company in Burlington, Massachusetts, says it has closed a $25 million deal for series B venture financing. The series B round — the second financing installment after initial start-up — includes new syndicate member Lundbeckfond Ventures, as well as previous investors SV Life Sciences and Novo A/S.
The company is developing AC607, a stem cell therapy for acute kidney injury. AC607 uses bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from healthy adult donors and then expanded with AlloCure’s manufacturing process. AC607, says the company, goes to the site of injury where it encourages anti-inflammatory and organ repair processes through the secretion of beneficial hormones, without differentiation and repopulation of the injured kidney.
Robert Brenner, AlloCure’s president and CEO, says the financing is expected to support an upcoming phase 2 clinical study of AC607. The study will be a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of AC607 for the treatment of acute kidney injury beginning this summer at academic institutions and hospitals in the U.S.
The company has already completed a phase 1 trial to determine the safety of AC607. The study found the safety profile consistent with expectations for this type of therapy and with no serious adverse events reported. While the study’s main focus was on safety, the company says the patients treated with AC607 also experienced a decreased incidence of post-operative acute kidney injury, decreased hospital readmission rates, and a significant decrease in length of hospital stay, when compared to historical controls.
In January, AlloCure received Fast Track designation from the FDA for AC607. FDA grants Fast Track designation to new therapies that treat serious diseases and address unmet medical needs.
Read more: Biotech Start-Up Lands $15M Series A Round
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