SAN CARLOS, Calif.– Glycomine, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing new therapies for orphan diseases, today announced that it has closed a $68 million Series B financing. The proceeds of the financing will be used to advance Glycomine’s lead drug candidate, GLM101, through initial clinical trials in patients. GLM101 is a novel substrate replacement therapy in development to treat phosphomannomutase 2-congenital disorder of glycosylation (PMM2-CDG), a rare disease representing a critical unmet medical need.
The Series B financing includes $35 million of new funds in addition to the $33 million announced in August 2019. Today’s financing was led by new investors, Abingworth and Sanofi Ventures, and joined by RiverVest Venture Partners and Remiges Ventures. In addition, all previous Series B investors – Novo Holdings A/S, Asahi Kasei Pharma Ventures, Mission BioCapital, Sanderling Ventures, and Chiesi Ventures – participated.
Glycomine’s CEO, Peter McWilliams, Ph.D., said, “We are delighted to have expanded our syndicate with these high-quality, experienced life science investors. We have demonstrated in preclinical studies that GLM101 can restore the glycosylation pathways that are disrupted in PMM2-CDG. This additional funding will enable us to confirm in the clinic the potential of GLM101 as a therapy for all PMM2-CDG patients, regardless of genotype, and we are looking forward to executing on our clinical program with this new infusion of capital.”
PMM2-CDG is the most prevalent congenital disease of glycosylation but has no FDA-approved treatments. Glycomine’s GLM101 is a mannose-1-phosphate replacement therapy in development to treat PMM2-CDG, a disease caused by a deficiency of the enzyme phosphomannomutase 2 (PMM2). PMM2 converts mannose-6-phosphate to mannose-1-phosphate, which is an essential sugar molecule in the N-glycosylation pathway and is crucially important for proper glycoprotein structure and function. GLM101 is designed to deliver mannose-1-phosphate directly into cells and thereby bypass the PMM2 enzyme deficiency and address all disease-causing PMM2 mutations to restore pathway function. GLM101 has received Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and Europe and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation in the U.S.
“Glycomine’s novel and scientifically informed approach shows the potential of GLM101 to be a significant disease-modifying treatment,” added Bali Muralidhar, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner with Abingworth. “Glycomine has developed a proprietary approach to delivering mannose-1-phosphate intracellularly to replace the missing sugar molecule. Initial clinical studies of GLM101 will be an important proof-of-concept, and we are excited to support the company at this pivotal stage.”
“PMM2-CDG is an important unmet need with no therapeutic option,” added Jim Trenkle, Ph.D., US Head of Investments at Sanofi Ventures. “We are enthusiastic to support Glycomine’s work to advance transformative therapies for PMM2-CDG patients and their families and caregivers.”
In connection with the financing, Dr. Muralidhar, Dr. Trenkle, and Niall O’Donnell, Ph.D., Managing Director of RiverVest, have been appointed to Glycomine’s Board of Directors.
