US-based clinical-stage gene therapy company Atsena Therapeutics has secured $150m in an oversubscribed Series C funding round, led by Bain Capital’s Life Sciences team.
Other participants include Wellington Management, alongside existing investors Abingworth, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Hatteras Venture Partners, Lightstone Ventures, Manning Family Foundation, Osage University Partners, and Sofinnova Investments.
Atsena aims to advance the funding to support its preclinical pipeline of first-in-class therapies and expand the use of its novel spreading AAV.SPR capsid.
The company will advance the development of its lead programme, ATSN-201, which targets X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS), a genetic condition causing blindness.
ATSN-201 has been granted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Fast Track, Rare Paediatric Disease, and Orphan Drug Designations.
Bain Capital partner Amir Zamani said: “We believe Atsena has a unique opportunity to deliver meaningful impact for patients with inherited retinal diseases on the basis of novel science and impressive clinical data generated to date.
“We look forward to supporting Patrick and his strong team as they look to unlock the next phase of Atsena’s growth and innovation while thoughtfully advancing potentially groundbreaking therapies toward patients in need.”
As part of the financing, an experienced scientist and biopharmaceutical executive, Norbert Riedel, will be appointed as a member of Atsena’s Board of Directors.
ATSN-101 is an investigational gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis type 1 (LCA1), has completed a Phase 1/2 trial with positive results.
The drug received the US FDA Rare Paediatric Disease, Orphan Drug, and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations.
Atsena is advancing ATSN-101 toward the initiation of a global clinical trial, as part of its exclusive strategic collaboration with Japanese drugmaker Nippon Shinyaku.
Wedbush & Co. served as the exclusive placement agent for the Series C financing, while Cooley served as legal advisor to Atsena.
Atsena Therapeutics CEO Patrick Ritschel said: “Closing our Series C marks a pivotal moment for Atsena as we advance our transformative ocular gene therapies and fuel our next phase of growth, innovation, and clinical progress.
“It follows a productive 12 months of key achievements, including securing a partner to advance ATSN-101 to a global pivotal trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis type 1 (LCA1) and initiating Part B of the ATSN-201 LIGHTHOUSE study for XLRS.
“We’re grateful for the support of our investors and partners who share our vision for the future of leveraging genetic medicine to reverse or prevent blindness.”
