French biotech Alizé Pharma 3 completed a $75 million series A financing to support its portfolio of investigational therapies for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases.
LSP led the round with participation from a syndicate of investors including Novo Ventures, Kurma Partners, Orbimed, Pontifax, Partners Innovation Fund, Bpifrance’s Innobio 2, and existing investors Sham Innovation Santé/Turenne Capital, Crédit Agricole Création, and TAB Consulting.
Proceeds will be used to grow company’s team in Lyon, France, and Boston to advance its current programs in hypoparathyroidism and severe insulin resistance into clinical development. The fund will also be used to strengthen the company’s product portfolio in rare endocrine and metabolic diseases through selective acquisitions.
Alize Pharma 3 currently has two preclinical programs expected to reach clinical stage in 2020.
AZP-3601 is a parathyroid hormone (PTH) analog that was licensed from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Its pharmacological profile and specific actions on calcium metabolism make it a potential best-in-class therapy for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism, which is associated with high unmet clinical need.
AZP-3404 is a small peptide that leverages the biology of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 (IGFBP2) to treat syndromes of severe insulin resistance, a collection of ultra-rare diseases with significant morbidity and mortality. AZP-3404 was designed and optimized based on original research licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Maine.
“Both programs are based on deep scientific knowledge and target a patient population where there is significant unmet need,” said Felice Verduyn-Van Weegen, investment manager at LSP. “We believe that this financing will enable Alizé Pharma 3 to live up to its full potential to become a fully-fledged biotech company with several interesting assets in the endocrine space. This is an ambitious team, resulting in an ambitious company.”
Photo: Felice Verduyn-Van Weegen, investment manager at LSP
Author: Rare Daily Staff
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