Dutch Biotech Xinvento Raises Seed Round to Develop Treatment for Congenital Hyperinsulinism
April 21, 2022
Dutch biotech Xinvento said it completed a seed funding round, which it will use to develop a treatment for the rare disease congenital hyperinsulinism.
Xinvento was founded in 2021 by CEO Claudine van der Sande, the driving force behind the company, who has a son diagnosed with CHI and is financially backed and advised by drug development experts and seasoned biotech leaders such as Ed Kaye (CEO Stoke Therapeutics), John Maraganore (former CEO Alnylam), David Meeker (CEO Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, former CEO Sanofi Genzyme), Hans Schikan (former CEO Prosensa and co-founder Pharvaris), James Shannon (former CMO GSK and Global Head of Development Novartis), Onno van de Stolpe (founder and former CEO Galapagos), Daniel de Boer (founder and CEO ProQR) and Dinko Valerio (co-founder Leyden Labs, founder Crucell).
Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is characterized by hypoglycemia (hypos) resulting from an over-secretion of insulin. CHI is the most frequent cause of severe, random, and persistent hypos in newborns and children. Without proper and immediate treatment to prevent hypos, the patient may suffer seizures, coma, permanent brain damage, or even death. There currently are limited effective treatment options available to CHI patients.
“With my background in the pharmaceutical industry and facing the lack of real treatment options for children like mine with CHI, I saw an opportunity to make a difference,” said van der Sande. “With seed funding secured, the first steps towards an effective and safe treatment are becoming a reality.”
This seed funding will enable Xinvento to design and test its proprietary molecules in the relevant pre-clinical models to identify potential drug candidates.
“The science behind the Xinvento program is intriguing, as it can benefit to a great extent from all the knowledge and experience gathered over the past 20 years,” said Piet Wigerinck, a translational chemistry expert, former chief scientific officer of Galapagos, and the scientific co-founder leading the Xinvento R&D efforts. “This has enabled us to select a promising target and with a focused research program, we expect to deliver clinical candidate molecules within one year.”
Author: Rare Daily Staff
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