SAN FRANCISCO — Expedition Therapeutics has raised $115 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing and dosed the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial of EXPD-101, its experimental treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The financing was led by General Atlantic, with participation from RA Capital, Vivo Capital and all existing investors, including Sofinnova Investments, Novo Holdings, Forbion, Dawn Biopharma, Adage Capital Management, Balyasny Asset Management, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, BVF Partners and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.
The clinical-stage biotechnology company said the funding will support Phase 2 development of EXPD-101, expansion of its pipeline of therapies for inflammatory diseases and additional research and discovery work.
EXPD-101 is an oral, next-generation inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase 1, or DPP1, designed to address neutrophilic inflammation, which contributes to the progression of COPD.
Expedition said EXPD-101 was well tolerated in Phase 1 studies, with no dose-limiting toxicities. The drug also demonstrated dose-proportional pharmacokinetics supporting once-daily oral dosing.
The company said it is conducting the first global, randomized Phase 2 trial of a DPP1 inhibitor in patients with COPD.
“Today marks a defining milestone for Expedition as we complete an oversubscribed Series B financing and dose the first patient in our global Phase 2 COPD clinical trial,” Founder and CEO Yi Larson said.
“This financing brings together a top-tier investor syndicate who share our conviction in the potential of our science and our mission to develop differentiated therapies for patients living with serious chronic diseases,” Larson added.
COPD treatments currently focus largely on controlling symptoms, while chronic neutrophilic inflammation can continue to drive disease progression and exacerbations.
By selectively inhibiting DPP1, EXPD-101 is intended to disrupt an upstream inflammatory pathway involved in activating neutrophil enzymes.
“By selectively targeting DPP1, this investigational therapy has the potential to interrupt a key upstream inflammatory pathway, offering a novel approach that could improve outcomes for patients,” said James Chalmers, M.D., Ph.D., Rhodes Chair of Experimental Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Oxford.
Brett Zbar, M.D., Managing Director and Global Head of Life Sciences at General Atlantic, will join Expedition’s Board of Directors as part of the financing.
“Expedition is taking a differentiated scientific approach to addressing significant unmet need in inflammatory and respiratory disease,” Zbar said. “The company’s transition into Phase 2 marks an important inflection point.”
