Funding For 'Holy Grail' Of Anticoagulant Drugs, University Of Cambridge

Date: Jun-17-2013XO1 Ltd, a University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital spin-out company, has raised $11 million in funding to develop a new anticoagulant medication which prevents stroke and heart attacks without causing bleeding.

The company explained that the new drug, a synthetic antibody called Ichorcumab, has the potential to save millions of lives.

Funding for the Ichorcumab research came from Index Ventures, a life science investor. The money will be used to develop Ichorcumab, which was developed by scientists from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals. The drug targets the enzyme thrombin, which is responsible for blood clotting.

Dr David Grainger, Venture Partner at Index Ventures and interim Chief Executive of XO1 Ltd., said:

"This is the most exciting drug candidate I have seen in 20 years in the industry. It has the potential to save millions of lives."

Ichorcumab, a synthetic antibody, was based on the naturally-occurring antibody identified in 2008 in a patient at Addenbrooke's. The patient arrived at the Accident and Emergency room (A&E) with a head injury. Doctors quickly discovered there was a degree of anticoagulation associated with severe hemophilia.

Dr. Trevor Baglin, a Consultant Haemotologist at Addenbrooke's, said "We thought it might be fatal. But to our surprise the bleeding stopped quite normally."

Dr. Baglin and Professor Jim Huntington, from the University's Cambridge Institute of Medical Research, set out to design a synthetic version of the patient's antibody that made this extraordinary anticoagulation possible.

Warfarin, a well known anticoagulant for over 60 years, as well as the newer generation of drugs that target thrombin and another coagulation factor (fXa) directly, are commonly used for the prevention of thrombosis. However, anticoagulants have to be used in a limited way, because blood clotting is vital to prevent excessive bleeding. Existing anticoagulants cause bleeding at the same doses they deliver anticoagulation. The "holy grail" of anticoagulants would be one that does not cause excessive bleeding.

Dr. Blaglin explained "Undoubtedly higher doses of these anticoagulant drugs could prevent the majority of heart attacks and strokes. But we can't give higher doses because the bleeding they would cause would itself be fatal. Ichorcumab has the potential to change all that."

The advantage of Ichorcumab is that it provides a high degree of anticoagulation without the higher bleeding risk. "We've never seen that before," said Professor Huntington.

The $11 million funding will go towards completing the preclinical development of Ichorcumab and to synthesize substantial quantities of the antibody.

Dr. Grainger expects human trials will start within the next two years.

Kevin Johnson, a Partner at Index Ventures, said "This represents the largest investment in a life science company by Index Ventures to date, underlining the transformative potential we see in this drug candidate."

The team explained that XO1 Ltd will operate without laboratories or offices, in "virtual mode". It will use out-sourced drug development expertise from all over the world. "That approach gives us maximum flexibility to deliver high quality development faster and cheaper," doctor Grainger explained.

In an online communiqué, Index Ventures wrote:

"The investment - which comes from the $200M Life Sciences fund Index launched with Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline in 2012 to accelerate new drug discovery - is one of the largest-ever Series A investments in a preclinical stage, single-asset company certainly in Europe. Indeed, it ranks as a significant deal even by US standards. But that is entirely appropriate: Ichorcumab is a very special antibody."

Written by Christian Nordqvist

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