Nuvig sets out to develop novel immune therapies for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nuvig Therapeutics, Inc., today announced the company’s launch to develop novel therapies that induce immune homeostasis mechanisms and treat autoimmune diseases without compromising normal immune function. To support this mission, the company closed a $47 million Series A funding, led by Novo Holdings A/S and Platanus, and joined by Bristol Myers Squibb, Digitalis Ventures and Mission BioCapital.

“Recent scientific insights into immune regulatory mechanisms have led to the identification of new therapeutic targets and protein therapeutic candidates that do not rely on immune suppression, but rather promote a natural rebalancing of normal immune function,” said Pamela Conley, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Nuvig Therapeutics. “Based on initial preclinical data, we believe that Nuvig’s therapeutic approach has the potential to be broadly active in a variety of autoimmune diseases and could significantly improve overall health and quality of life compared to therapies currently available and to products in development for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.”

Globally, millions of people are affected by inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, yet they have few safe and effective treatment options. Nuvig has the opportunity to address this unmet need with a new understanding of how the immune system balances itself naturally. Armed with this knowledge, Nuvig has developed therapeutic proteins genetically modified to activate a class of immunoregulatory receptors that restore immune homeostasis after inflammation. Nuvig is building a pipeline of differentiated therapeutic proteins that specifically target affected tissues in a disease-specific manner and can be used in the context of varied but well-defined disease mechanisms.

“Nuvig was founded to fundamentally transform the way we approach and treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases,” said Kenneth Harrison, Ph.D., partner at Novo Ventures. “The new mechanism of action pursued by Nuvig does not rely on traditional immunosuppressive approaches which can increase the risk of infection and cancer. On the contrary, Nuvig’s lead molecule has the potential to produce a highly differentiated safety and efficacy profile in a wide range of autoimmune diseases.

Hannah Chang, MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Platanus, concluded, “In addition to pursuing a distinctive therapeutic mechanism of action, Nuvig is pursuing a clinical development strategy designed to rapidly achieve proof of concept in patients with of an autoimmune disease. . This will be followed by the expansion of the indication with the lead molecule, as well as the expansion of the pipeline. We are excited to support Nuvig’s new therapeutic framework for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and look forward to the company’s progress toward the clinic.

About Nuvig Therapeutics

Nuvig Therapeutics advances innovative and transformational therapies designed to induce natural mechanisms to restore immune homeostasis, rebalance immune function following inflammation, and improve treatment options for patients. Nuvig is building a pipeline of novel immune therapies for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. For more information, visit www.nuvightherapeutics.com.

About Novo Holdings A/S

Novo Holdings A/S is a private limited company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding company of the Novo Group, consisting of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, and is responsible for managing the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Novo Holdings is recognized as a leading international life sciences investor focused on creating long-term value. As a life sciences investor, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to early-stage companies and takes significant equity positions in growing and established companies. Novo Holdings also manages a large portfolio of diversified financial assets. For more information visit www.novoholdings.dk. Novo Ventures is a global team of investment professionals that supports Novo Holdings’ investments in private and public opportunities in the life sciences industry. For more information: www.novoholdings.dk/investments/ventures/.

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