Augustine Therapeutics Raises €78 Million Series A to Advance Novel HDAC6 Inhibitor for Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
核心洞察
Augustine Therapeutics (搜索), a Leuven-based biotech startup, secured €78 million in Series A funding co-led by Novo Holdings (搜索) and Jeito Capital (搜索) to advance its selective HDAC6 inhibitor platform.
The company's lead candidate AGT-100216 represents the first selective HDAC6 inhibitor designed for long-term treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (搜索), utilizing a novel non-hydroxamate, non-hydrazide chemotype.
Funding will support Phase I/II proof-of-concept clinical trials for CMT disease and development of next-generation HDAC6 inhibitors (搜索) targeting neurodegenerative and cardiometabolic diseases.
Augustine Therapeutics (搜索), a Belgian biotech company developing selective HDAC6 inhibitors (搜索), has completed a €78 million Series A funding round co-led by Novo Holdings (搜索) and Jeito Capital (搜索). The financing will advance the company's lead candidate AGT-100216 through Phase I/II proof-of-concept clinical trials for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and support development of its next-generation HDAC6 inhibitor pipeline.
Novel Approach to HDAC6 Inhibition
Founded in 2019 as a VIB and KU Leuven spin-off, Augustine Therapeutics (搜索) has developed a distinctive approach to HDAC6 inhibition using a novel non-hydroxamate, non-hydrazide chemotype. This design strategy aims to selectively inhibit HDAC6 while preserving its beneficial non-catalytic functions and avoiding the limitations associated with previous HDAC6 inhibitors (搜索).
The company's lead program, AGT-100216, represents the first selective HDAC6 inhibitor specifically designed for long-term treatment of CMT disease. Augustine's pipeline extends beyond CMT to include programs targeting peripheral and central nervous system indications, with a focus on chronic diseases affecting neuromuscular, neurodegenerative, and cardio-metabolic systems.
Strategic Investment Partnership
The Series A round was co-led by Novo Holdings (搜索), the holding and investment company managing assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation with €149 billion in assets as of 2023, and Jeito Capital (搜索), a Paris-based global private equity fund. The investment also included participation from existing investors Asabys Partners (搜索), AdBio Partners, V-Bio Ventures, CMT Research Foundation, and Newton Biocapital.
"This investment illustrates the potential of Augustine to bring exciting innovation in therapeutic areas where patients have limited or no treatment options," said Mehdi Ainouche, Senior Principal at Jeito Capital (搜索). "We are delighted to co-lead this financing to realize Augustine's potential, which stands out for both the quality of its research and the expertise of Gerhard and his team."
Clinical Development Strategy
Augustine Therapeutics (搜索) will utilize the Series A funding to rapidly advance AGT-100216 into clinical trials for CMT treatment. The company previously raised €17 million in a Series A first closing in 2024, led by Asabys Partners (搜索) with participation from Eli Lilly and Company and the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation, to support initial clinical development activities.
"We now look forward to rapidly advancing our lead candidate into clinical trials for the treatment of CMT," commented CEO Gerhard Koenig. "I would like to thank our new and existing investors for their unwavering support as we continue to advance into clinical development."
Scientific Foundation and Competitive Advantage
Augustine's scientific foundation originates from groundbreaking research by Prof. Ludo Van Den Bosch from the VIB-KU Leuven (搜索) Center for Brain and Disease Research, focusing on the underlying mechanism of axonal degeneration of peripheral nerves through selective HDAC6 inhibition.
Clara Campàs, Founding and Managing Partner at Asabys Partners (搜索), emphasized the unique properties of Augustine's molecules: "Augustine's molecules are unique, selective and potent, providing a competitive advantage in modulating a validated target with potential impact in a large variety of indications. Augustine's novel generation of chemically distinct HDAC6 inhibitors (搜索) are unprecedented and have the potential to overcome some of the typical limitations of other HDAC6 inhibitors currently being tested in early clinical development."
The funding positions Augustine Therapeutics (搜索) to advance its innovative HDAC6 inhibitor platform through clinical development, potentially addressing significant unmet medical needs in neurological and metabolic diseases where current treatment options remain limited.