New funding: Seattle biotech company Mozart Therapeutics announced $25 million in new funding Wednesday to further its development of therapies for celiac and other autoimmune conditions.
The therapy: The fresh cash will be used to accelerate the development of MTX-101, Mozart’s leading drug candidate. The company’s initial focus is on gastrointestinal disorders, including Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and other conditions.
The background: Mozart’s program builds on research from the lab of co-founder Mark Davis, a professor at Stanford and head of the university’s Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection. The MTX-101 drug aims to restore regulatory CD8 T cell function, acting early in the autoimmune disease process to halt inflammation and prevent further complication.
Map to market: Mozart said it plans to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) to the FDA by early 2024, starting the first human clinical trial with healthy volunteers in the first half of next year. The company raised $55 million in 2021, just a year after it launched. Total funding is $80 million.
Competition: Regulatory T cells are a focus for a number of biotech companies, including Seattle and South San Francisco-based Sonoma, which raised $265 million in 2021. Other competitors include GentiBio, which is building operations in Boston and Seattle, Egle Therapeutics, TRex Bio, and Avotres.
The team: Mozart is led by its president and CEO Katie Fanning, an industry veteran who previously was CEO of Seattle biotech Nohla Therapeutics. The company has about 30 employees, with offices and labs located in Seattle.
The funding: The extended Series A round includes participation from Pfizer Ventures, AbbVie Ventures, Ono Venture Investment and UPMC Enterprises. Previous backers include Mozart investors ARCH Venture Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Eli Lilly & Company, MRL Ventures Fund, Leaps by Bayer, Altitude Life Science Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
Marie-Claire Peakman, a partner at Pfizer Ventures, and Jasmina Marjanovic, director at AbbVie Ventures, will join Mozart’s board of directors as part of the funding round.
