Inflazome receives funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

• Funding in excess of US$1 million to support the development of a brain imaging probe for patient diagnosis and the clinical development of drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases

• Inflazome is developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome

• NLRP3 activation is now associated with the progression of Parkinson’s Disease

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK) | 25th March, 2019: Inflazome (inflazome.com), the pioneering biotech company developing several small molecule drugs that inhibit harmful inflammation, today announces it has been awarded funding in excess of US$1 million by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). The grant will fund the development of a NLRP3-specific Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracer to allow non-invasive imaging of inflammasome-driven inflammation in the brain.

To enhance the accuracy and probability of success of a clinical trial in neurodegenerative disease, it is important to select suitable patients at the appropriate staging of the disease. It is also essential to determine whether the biological target of interest is being engaged by the drug in the brain. One approach to achieve this in the central nervous system (CNS) is by using an NLRP3-specific tracer during a PET scan. The tracer could quickly, accurately and non-invasively produce images showing the drug binding to target inflammasomes in the brain.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is believed to drive chronic inflammation associated with the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease. The PET tracer will also help Inflazome to determine what doses are needed for patients in larger clinical trials in the future. The Principal Investigator on this project is Prof. Matthew Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Inflazome, who is assisted by Co-Investigator Dr David Miller, Head of Medicinal Chemistry.

Inflazome is developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic and acute inflammatory conditions. The NLRP3 inflammasome was recently shown to be associated with the progression of Parkinson’s Disease in humans and in non-clinical models, in research published on 31 October 2018 in Science Translational Medicine (Link).

This innovative research was co-authored by Prof. Cooper with research teams at The University of Queensland, Australia, led by A/Prof. Trent Woodruff and funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation.

Prof Matt Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented: “The Michael J. Fox Foundation is a fantastic organisation with a passionate commitment to new science, science translation and candidate therapies for Parkinson’s. We are fully aligned in our shared goal to help patients with Parkinson’s and other debilitating neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are inadequate therapies and no cures. Their support will help us advance and hopefully validate our disruptive approach to diagnose and then treat patients by focusing on neuroinflammation.”

Dr Jamie Eberling, Director of Research Programs at MJFF, said, “An imaging tool to visualize neuroinflammation may help investigate Parkinson’s onset and progression as well as evaluate new treatments that could alter the course of the disease. Our Foundation is investing in this research due to the significant potential impact on drug development and patient lives.”

About Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, affecting more than 10 million people. It is characterised by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, accompanied by chronic inflammation in the brain. Inflazome has identified drugs to stop the chronic cycle of inflammation in the brain. Research published in Science Translational Medicine on 31 October 2018 found that the tool compound MCC950, a potent inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, given orally once a day could stop neuroinflammation. MCC950 arrested the effects of Parkinson’s in several animal models of the disease, leading to reduced brain neuron loss and higher levels of dopamine.

A link to a Parkinson’s Disease explainer video can be found here

About Inflazome

To learn more please visit: inflazome.com

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

To learn more please visit: https://www.michaeljfox.org

Contacts

Inflazome:

Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development

E: j.skillington@inflazome.com

Media Contacts:

FTI Consulting (Ireland)

Jonathan Neilan, Paddy Berkery

E: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com; patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com

T: +353 (1) 765 0884

FTI Consulting (UK)

Brett Pollard, Ciara Martin

E: brett.pollard@fticonsulting.com; ciara.martin@fticonsulting.com

Prof. Marco Colonna M.D. joins Scientific Advisory Board

Distinguished scientist with deep expertise in innate immunity and its role in neurodegenerative diseases

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK) | 18th February 2019: Inflazome (inflazome.com), the pioneering inflammasome company, announces the appointment of distinguished scientist, Prof. Marco Colonna M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board. Prof. Colonna has deep expertise and extensive experience in innate immunity. His team is responsible for the innovative discovery of Triggering Receptors Expressed on Myeloid cells (TREM), important regulators of the innate immune response. Prof. Colonna is currently investigating TREM’s link to Alzheimer’s Disease at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, where he has been a Professor of Pathology and Immunology since 2001.  

With the appointment of Prof. Colonna, Inflazome continues to strengthen its Scientific Advisory Board, a collaboration of eminent, world renowned scientists who will work closely with the management team as Inflazome prepares to advance its lead product candidates into clinical studies later this year.

On his appointment Prof. Colonna commented: “Neurodegenerative diseases are growing at an alarming rate. A small molecule that crosses the blood brain barrier and inhibits NLRP3 in the brain has the potential to open a new exciting avenue for therapeutic intervention. I am delighted to join the Inflazome Scientific Advisory Board to help advance this potential”. 

Prof Luke O’Neill, Co-Founder and CSO of Inflazome, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Marco to Inflazome’s SAB. He brings a wealth of experience in the molecular and cellular basis of innate immunity, especially in the Central Nervous System. He will bring tremendous new insights into our research and clinical programs”.

About Prof. Marco Colonna

Prof. Marco Colonna, born in Parma, Italy, received his medical degree at Parma University and completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (Cambridge, MA, USA). He became a scientific member of the Basel Institute for Immunology in Basel, Switzerland. Since 2001 he has been a Professor of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. Prof. Colonna’s research focuses on immunoreceptors. In this field, his accomplishments include identification and characterization of the Killer cell Ig-like receptors and HLA-C polymorphisms as their inhibitory ligands, as well as the discovery of the LILR and TREM inhibitory and activating receptor families.

Through analysis of the cellular distribution of these receptors, Prof. Colonna identified plasmacytoid dendritic cells as source of IFNa/b in anti-viral responses and innate lymphoid cells that produce IL-22 in mucosae. His current areas of research include:

1)    TREM2 and innate immunoreceptors in Alzheimer's disease.

2)    Innate lymphoid cells in mucosal immunity.

3)    Plasmacytoid dendritic cells in host defense and autoimmunity.


Prof. Colonna has published over 80 primary last-author studies in peer-reviewed journals, and holds editorial appointments for many publications, including European Journal of Immunology, Immunity, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Blood, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Human Immunology.

Members of the Inflazome’s Scientific Advisory Board include:

-        Prof. Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin

-        Prof. Marco Colonna, MD, Washington University School of Medicine

-        Prof. Veit Hornung, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

-        Dr. David Morris, MD, Novartis Venture Fund

-        Prof. Mihai G. Netea, Nijmegen University

-        Prof. Paul M. Ridker, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic and acute inflammatory conditions from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cardiovascular, liver, kidney and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration.

To advance its programs to clinical development, Inflazome recently closed a successful Series B financing of €40M / US$46M led by Forbion Capital Partners with Longitude Capital, with Series A investors, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Novartis Venture Fund, also participating.

To learn more visit: inflazome.com

Contacts

Inflazome

Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development

E: j.skillington@inflazome.com

Media

FTI Consulting:

Jonathan Neilan

E: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com

Paddy Berkery

E: patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com

T: +353 (0) 1 765 0884

Inflazome’s drug discovery and development efforts highlighted in Nature Biotechnology News Article.

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK) | 23 January 2019: Inflazome’s drug discovery and development efforts highlighted in Nature Biotechnology News Article.Following on from a 2018 Science Translational Medicine publication validating the NLRP3 inflammasome as a potential therapeutic target in Parkinson’s Disease (here), Nature Biotechnology highlights the role and potential of NLRP3 in Parkinson’s Disease and Inflazome’s focused efforts to treat this debilitating disease with our potent, proprietary NLRP3 inhibitors.

Read the full article here. 

Appointment of Dr Thomas Jung as Chief Medical Officer

Ø  Industry veteran clinician to lead the clinical development of Inflazome’s pioneering NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors to treat inflammatory diseases

Ø  Appointment follows Inflazome’s recent successful €40m Series B financing

Ø  The NLRP3 inflammasome is now associated with a broad range of serious medical conditions driven by harmful inflammation; from neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, to cardiovascular, liver, kidney and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge, UK | 29th November 2018: Inflazome (inflazome.com), the pioneering inflammasome company, announces the appointment of Dr Thomas Jung M.D., Ph.D., as its Chief Medical Officer.

Dr Jung joins Inflazome’s senior management team to lead the clinical development of its potent and selective small-molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Dr Jung will oversee the company's global operations related to the development of Inflazome’s lead and next-generation compounds across a range of therapeutic indications; and will work collaboratively with Dr Jeff Thompson, Inflazome’s Head of Clinical Operations and Joanna Tufnell, Head of Regulatory Affairs.

Dr Matt Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented: “Dr Jung has a long and successful track record in guiding pioneering medicines to the market. He brings significant breadth and depth in clinical immunology to the team. We look forward to working together to drive our novel immunotherapies through clinical trials to benefit patients affected by harmful inflammation.”

On his appointment Dr Jung commented: “I am delighted to join the Inflazome team. I see huge potential in Inflazome’s novel small molecules and their ability to transform patients’ lives in a variety of clinical indications. I am looking forward to working with physicians, scientists and patients to develop these new drugs and to deliver on the promise to modify inflammation for patients’ benefit”.

Dr Thomas Jung

Dr Jung is a M.D., Ph.D. physician-scientist with extensive experience in Translational Sciences, Preclinical and Clinical Development of small molecules and biologics.

During a distinguished career at Novartis, Dr Jung was a member of the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research and Novartis Pharma for 13 years. His primary focus of immunological research was the study of innovative anti-inflammatory principles. He led the Canakinumab (Illaris®) Team in the US and EU, from bench to first approval for CAPS (Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes, a rare monogenetic disease). Dr Jung was also central to its expansion strategy into indications such as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, gout and other rare fever syndromes. He made a significant contribution to the exploration of Canakinumab in cardiovascular diseases and served as the Development Head for Immunology products and, subsequently, as Head of the Translational Medicine Group for Novartis Europe. Thereafter, Dr Jung served as Chief Development Officer and Chief Medical Officer for two biotechnology companies in Switzerland: Auris Medical and Delenex. Dr Jung is a board-certified Dermatologist and holds an Associate Professor position for Dermatology at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

About Inflazome

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic and acute inflammatory conditions from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cardiovascular, liver, kidney and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Prof. Luke O’Neill Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration.

To advance its programs to clinical development, Inflazome recently closed a Series B financing of €40M / US$46M led by Forbion Capital Partners with Longitude Capital and Series A investors, Fountain Healthcare Partners and Novartis Venture Fund, also participating.

To learn more visit: inflazome.com

Contacts

Inflazome:

Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development

E: j.skillington@inflazome.com

T: +353 1 687 5003

Media:

Jonathan Neilan | FTI Consulting

E: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com

T: +353 1 765 0886

Paddy Berkery | FTI Consulting

E: patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com

T: +353 1 765 0884

Inflazome Completes €40m ($46m) Series B Financing to Develop NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibitors to Clinical Proof-of-Concept

Ø Financing led by Forbion, with Longitude Capital and founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners, also participating

Ø Funding to advance clinical trials of Inflazome’s pioneering orally-available NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor compounds in several inflammatory diseases

Ø NLRP3 is associated with harmful inflammation in a broad range of serious medical conditions including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, inflammatory bowel disease, gout, osteoarthritis, liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases

Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge, U.K. | 19 November 2018: Inflazome, a pioneering inflammasome company developing small molecule drugs that block harmful inflammation, today announces the successful completion of a Series B financing round of €40 million ($46 million). The financing round was led by Forbion, with Longitude Capital and founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners, also participating.

Clinical and scientific data indicates that the NLRP3 inflammasome, a compelling biological target that regulates our innate immune response, is overactive in a broad range of serious medical conditions driven by harmful inflammation. These include neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as inflammatory bowel disease, gout, osteoarthritis, liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases; conditions often inadequately treated by current therapies.

Inflazome is developing potent and selective small-molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 inflammasome, to stop the cycle of chronic inflammation that drives such diseases. The Series B proceeds will be used to advance the Company’s first-in-class NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors into multiple clinical trials in 2019, with next-generation compounds following thereafter.

Following the completion of the financing round, Dr Marco Boorsma, a General Partner at Forbion, and Dr David Hirsch, a Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital, have joined Inflazome’s Board of Directors.

Dr Matt Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented: “We are very pleased to have secured a partnership with leading EU and US investors Forbion and Longitude and additional support from our founding investors, Novartis Venture Fund and Fountain Healthcare Partners. Forbion and Longitude have excellent track records of working closely with biotechs to drive R&D programs to successful clinical outcomes.”

Dr Marco Boorsma, General Partner at Forbion Capital Partners, commented: “Recognizing the important role of the inflammasome in many major diseases, we intensively screened the universe of companies active in this space. We decided to back Inflazome because of their leading position, deep understanding of inflammasome biology, foundational IP position and advanced and diversified pipeline of NLRP3 modulators.  We were also highly impressed with the experience and knowledge of the Company’s Management Team and Board.”

Dr David Hirsch, Managing Director and Founder of Longitude Capital, added: “We’re excited by the potential of NLRP3 inhibitors and look forward to generating robust human proof of concept data with this financing.”

Inflazome Chairman, Dr Manus Rogan and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Fountain Healthcare Partners, commented: “Due to the breadth of therapeutic applications, the market potential for a successful small molecule inhibitor of NLRP3 is clearly very significant. It has been exciting to have been involved in the Inflazome story since its inception and to follow our investment in one of the largest European venture capital backed financing rounds in the biotech sector this year.”

About Inflazome 

Utilizing the scientific expertise of our founders and advisors, Inflazome is leading the way in developing rally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in inflammatory diseases by targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is now understood to drive many chronic inflammatory conditions. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Inflazome was founded in 2016 by leading academics Prof. Matt Cooper, The University of Queensland (Australia) and Professor Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), following a highly productive joint collaboration. For more information, please visit: inflazome.com 

About Forbion 

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands and Germany. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion’s investment team has built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 50 companies. Forbion manages well over EUR 1 billion across ten funds. Forbion is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect health and well-being of patients. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI) facilities and AMUF facilities and the KFW through the ERP – Venture Capital Fondsfinanzierung facility. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early stage funds focused on Benelux and Germany. For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com 

About Longitude Capital 

Longitude Capital is a private investment firm that makes venture growth investments in biotechnology and medical technology companies that seek to improve clinical outcomes, enhance quality of life and/or reduce system costs. Longitude Capital invests in both privately held and publicly traded life science companies through a variety of investment approaches. Since 2006, Longitude Capital has raised over $1.2 billion across three funds and has offices in Menlo Park, CA and Greenwich, CT. For more information, please visit www.longitudecapital.com 

About Fountain Healthcare Partners 

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with €176 million ($200 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. www.fh-partners.com 

About Novartis Venture Fund 

Novartis Venture Fund is a corporate life science venture fund whose purpose is to foster innovation, drive significant patient benefit and generate superior returns by creating and investing in innovative life science companies at various stages of their development. For more information, go to www.nvfund.com 

Contacts 

Inflazome 

Dr Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development 

E: j.skillington@inflazome.com

T: +353 1 687 5003 

Media 

FTI Consulting 

Jonathan Neilan 

E: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com 

T: +353 1 765 0886 

Patrick Berkery 

E: patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com

Validation of a new target in Parkinson’s Disease

Innovative research was funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation

Dublin (IE), Cambridge (UK) | 31st October 2018: Inflazome Ltd, (“Inflazome”) is a pioneering biotech company developing small molecule drugs that stop harmful inflammation by targeting inflammasomes. Research leading towards a potential approach to Parkinson’s patients was published today in Science Translational Medicine. The study was co-authored by Inflazome Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Matt Cooper with research teams at The University of Queensland, Australia, led by A/Prof. Trent Woodruff.  Funding for these studies was provided by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Shake It Up Australia Foundation.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, affecting more than 10 million people.  It is characterised by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons, accompanied by chronic inflammation in the brain.  Inflazome has identified drugs to stop the chronic cycle of inflammation in the brain.  The researchers found that the tool compound MCC950, a potent inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, given orally once a day could stop neuroinflammation. MCC950 arrested the effects of Parkinson’s in several animal models of the disease, leading to reduced brain neuron loss and higher levels of dopamine.

NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives chronic inflammation and is implicated in many diseases - from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s to Asthma, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, Arthritis and the liver disease, NASH. Inflazome is developing orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs in these inflammatory diseases by blocking the activation of inflammasomes in our immune system.

Prof. Matt Cooper, Co-founder and CEO of Inflazome, commented:“We are indebted to The Michael J. Fox and Shake It Up Australia Foundations for supporting this work. We also thank those generous individuals affected by Parkinson’s who donated samples to aid medical research. Drug companies have tried for decades to develop medicines to combat neurodegenerative diseases by blocking the many different neurotoxins and amyloids that build up in the brain as we age.”

“The problem is that if one toxin is blocked by a drug, another may still build up and cause disease. In contrast, our line of research focuses not on individual toxins, but instead on the immune cells in our brains that clear amyloid and other neurotoxins. These cells, called microglia, normally protect us from infections that can lead to encephalitis and meningitis. However, as we age our immune system can become over-activated, which leads to neuroinflammation. Over-active microglia can no longer function as efficient ‘cleaners’ of neurotoxins, but instead contribute to long-term damage in the brain.”

The progression of Parkinson’s disease was studied using brain and blood samples donated by patients for medical research. The study demonstrated a key target in microglia, called the NLRP3 inflammasome, is highly activated in Parkinson’s. The same signals produced by inflammasome activation in human brains were seen in different pre-clinical models of Parkinson’s disease. A small molecule, MCC950, prevented the progression of Parkinson’s in these animal models, leading to reduced brain cell loss, and higher levels of dopamine and motor function to effectively ‘cool the brain on fire’.

Prof. Cooper added “We look forward to progressing this research through to clinical trials using our proprietary, improved drug candidates”.

Kuldip Dave, PhD, Director of Research Programs at The Michael J. Fox Foundation said, “Inflazome has validated a promising new target for Parkinson’s therapeutics and translated that finding into a potential drug to treat Parkinson’s disease. This is a key aspect of The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s research strategy, and we look forward to their candidate drug’s continued development.”  

“Shake It Up is proud and excited to be a part of the collaboration’s funding team, allowing highly  talented researchers an opportunity to create world leading breakthroughs that have the opportunity to be a game changer for people with Parkinson’s,” said Clyde Campbell, Founder and CEO of the Shake It Up Foundation.

A copy of the Science Translational Medicine paper can be found here. 

Contacts:

Inflazome

Dr. Jeremy Skillington | VP Business Development | j.skillington@inflazome.com | +353 1 687 5003

Media: 

Jonathan Neilan | FTI Consulting | jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com 

Paddy Berkery | FTI Consulting | patrick.berkery@fticonsulting.com