Mediar Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company advancing a portfolio of first-in-class therapies that halt and even reverse the course of fibrosis, today announced a $105M financing, including a recent $85 million Series A round co-led by Novartis Venture Fund and Sofinnova Partners and with participation from Pfizer Ventures, Mission BioCapital, Gimv, Pureos, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Company, Ono Venture Investment and Mass General Brigham Ventures.
Mediar Therapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to fibrosis treatment that halts the disease at a different source – the fibrotic mediators that drive disease progression. Mediar was founded based on a deep understanding of the complex science underlying fibrosis onset and progression. By combining novel targets with reliable, easily detectable blood biomarkers and familiar modalities, Mediar is derisking the path forward for fibrosis therapies in clinical development.
Mediar was founded on groundbreaking fibrosis research from Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals, in collaboration with Mass General Brigham Ventures, with the goal of transforming fibrotic disease treatment by targeting the myofibroblast, the key cell type driving fibrosis progression.
Mediar’s portfolio includes three novel targets that are easily detectable in blood and correlate with disease severity, allowing for a low-risk approach to clinical development. The series A funding will help the company advance its portfolio of first-in-class antibody treatments, which have the potential to treat fibrosis at various stages, with two programs entering human trials in 2024.
Fibrosis is one of the most complicated chronic pathologies due to an extensive and complex network of interwoven biological pathways, accounting for 45 percent of deaths in the developed world1. Current therapeutic approaches primarily target the fibrosis initiators, which modulate the underlying immune responses known to drive disease onset.
