Biotechnology startup Latus Bio has secured new venture funding to bring into clinical testing a different kind of gene therapy for Huntingtion’s disease, the progressive neurodegenerative condition.
Latus on Monday announced the closing of a $97 million Series A round, which included a $43 million “extension” to a $54 million haul it had raised earlier. The fresh funding was led by 8VC and involved eight other firms to previously back the startup, among them DCVC Bio and BioAdvance.
The cash will support development of two gene therapies nearing the clinic. One is for the “CLN2” form of a group of disorders known as Batten disease, a condition that affects young children and causes a rapid decline in cognitive abilities and motor function. That treatment, LTS-101, is expected to begin a human trial in the third quarter.
The other, LTS-201, is being developed for Huntington’s, a brain-wasting disease that’s long been an elusive target for drugmakers. Latus will ask U.S. regulators later this year to start an early-stage study.
The company is working on novel “capsids,” or viral shells used to wrap up genes for transport into the body. It also claims to be charting “optimal routes” for those therapies to take, so they can be efficiently delivered at lower doses.
The aim, according to Latus, is to come up with gene therapies that are safer and less costly to manufacture, enabling them to be used against more common conditions than the “ultra-rare disease settings” they’re typically relegated to. Though the startup’s initial focus is neurological disorders, it’s designing capsids that could help treat diseases of the kidney, eye, heart and muscles.
“Investor support for this financing reflects conviction in Latus’ differentiated and scalable approaches to gene therapy,” said Francisco Gimenez, an 8VC partner, in a statement. The company’s strategy “positions it to address longstanding limitations to gene therapy access,” he added.
Latus’ first foray into a larger patient population is Huntington’s, where a mutated protein called huntingtin accumulates in the brain, triggering an array of neurological issues. Many programs in development — including a gene therapy from UniQure that’s in advanced development — aim to stop production of that protein in one way or another.
UniQure’s therapy, in particular, has drawn national attention, as the company claimed the Food and Drug Administration backtracked from a previous position in demanding an additional clinical trial before considering approval.
Latus’ prospect works differently than UniQure’s, targeting a gene called MSH3 that’s implicated in the onset and progression of the disease. Published research has suggested knocking down MSH3 with a medicine could stymie a hazardous genetic phenomenon in Huntington’s where a three-nucleotide sequence errantly repeats and expands.
Preclinical data for LTS-201 support the potential for a “durable therapeutic benefit” through a single injection into the brain, the company said.
