BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Symbiotix Biotherapies, Inc. (“Symbiotix”), a pioneering microbiome company developing novel molecular therapeutics based on the human microbiome, today announced the completion of $5 million in institutional financing from Kairos Ventures, LLC. Built on over two decades of groundbreaking research that has been elucidating how molecules produced by our gut microbiota modulate the human immune system, the Company’s Scientific Co-Founders are three of the most distinguished thought leaders in the microbiome field:
-Prof. Dennis Kasper, M.D., the William Ellery Channing Professor of Medicine and Professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School
-Prof. Sarkis Mazmanian, Ph.D., the Louis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology
-Prof. Lloyd Kasper, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College
As one of the earliest companies that launched the microbiome sector, Symbiotix has been steadily advancing first-in-class programs that modulate regulatory T cell (TREG) activity and are now described by over 100 scientific publications from the Company’s Scientific Co-Founders. “At Symbiotix, we’ve been fortunate in having been able to attract significant non-dilutive capital over the years,” said Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Symbiotix. “As we position ourselves for commencing human clinical trials, the Kairos equity financing enables us to further accelerate our programs and complete necessary work in preparation for clinical trials.”
With an extensive intellectual property portfolio which now includes 22 issued patents and multiple pending cases licensed from California Institute of Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dartmouth College, Symbiotix has built a dominant IP portfolio that covers ReglemersTM, first-in-class molecules that modulate TREG activity. Just this year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded the very first composition-of-matter patent on a molecule that has emerged from the human microbiome. This patent, U.S. 9,539,281, covering the company’s lead clinical candidate, SYMB-104, is part of the exclusively licensed Symbiotix intellectual property portfolio.
According to Jim Demetriades, Managing Partner at Kairos Ventures, "We are proud to lead this equity round in Symbiotix, one of the first companies to recognize the importance of the microbiome in addressing autoimmune diseases. Symbiotix is led by a group of world class scientists, who have created significant, and well protected, intellectual property. We are tremendously excited about Symbiotix, a company that combines all of the elements we look for in a Kairos portfolio company."
About Kairos Ventures, LLC:
Kairos Ventures invests in research, patents, and businesses from scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs, with unique intellectual property that can lead to world-changing companies. In addition to providing early-stage capital, Kairos leverages its expertise and extensive network of professionals to assist its portfolio companies in all disciplines required to build a successful company. Kairos Ventures is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
About Symbiotix Biotherapies, Inc.
Symbiotix Biotherapies, Inc. is a pioneering microbiome company founded on the basis of over two decades of research at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, California Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College. Symbiotix is developing a novel class of Treg-modulating therapeutics based on molecules derived from the human microbiome. As one of the earliest companies in the microbiome sector, our most advanced clinical candidate has been described in over 100 scientific publications, represents the most well studied microbiome-derived molecule to date, and is now protected by issued composition-of-matter patents. Symbiotix is dedicated to delivering first-in-class oral agents that improve the lives of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and other serious immune-mediated diseases. For more information, please visit www.symbiotix-bio.com.