Enterprise Therapeutics Raises $2.4M To Fund Novel CF Therapy

Drug discovery company Enterprise Therapeutics Ltd. has successfully raised $2.4 million through a Series-A financing round. The company, based at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, is focused on creating novel therapies for respiratory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF). A portion the funding will be invested in the development of both low molecular weight drugs and new target identification programs.

The initial Series-A financier that granted Enterprise £1.6 million (equivalent to $2.4 million), Epidarex Capital, invested in the business to support the company in its mission to address the largely unmet medical needs not only for cystic fibrosis, but also for other respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe asthma.

“We are delighted that Epidarex Capital has recognized the potential of Enterprise Therapeutics’ drug discovery approach and capabilities,” said the CSO of Enterprise Therapeutics, Martin Gosling, about the business, in a press release. “We look forward to working together to discover and develop first in class therapies with the potential to impact the millions of patients with respiratory diseases.”

Enterprise Therapeutics’ main purpose is to offer novel disease modifying drugs able to target key triggers of both pathological disease and progression. While the currently available treatments for these debilitating respiratory diseases commonly target the symptoms of the disease and work through the dilatation of airways or through the dampening of inflammation, Enterprise Therapeutics aims to create disease modifying medication, including drugs able to target the underlying mechanisms related to mucus congestion.

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“Epidarex is excited to have led Enterprise Therapeutics’ initial financing, an investment aligned with our strategy of facilitating the growth and development of high potential, early stage life science companies in the UK and the US,” added Liz Roper, Partner at Epidarex Capital. We believe that the significant drug discovery experience and expertise of the company’s founders combined with the novel approach Enterprise is pursuing should deliver differentiated and badly needed therapies.”

In other developments in cystic fibrosis, Celtaxsys, Inc., a privately-owned, clinical stage drug discovery and development company focused on addressing serious inflammatory diseases, just announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted the company’s experimental therapy CTX-4430 (oral leukotriene A4 hydrolase inhibitor) Orphan Drug Designation as a potential treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF). This new designation follows the orphan designation granted last year by the European Medicines Agency, and strengthens CTX-4430’s position as the most advanced immuno-modulator the company has to offer.