Novel cancer company founded by Versant
Ventures
Repare Therapeutics Inc. today announced a US$68 million Series
A financing to advance its platform and pipeline of novel medicines
that target genetically defined weaknesses of cancers. Founding
investor Versant Ventures co-led the round with MPM Capital. They
were also joined by other syndicate investors including Fonds de
solidarité FTQ, Celgene Switzerland, an affiliate of Celgene
Corporation, and BDC Capital’s Healthcare Venture Fund.
With this financing, Repare emerges from Versant’s Discovery
Engines after an 18-month stealth period during which the company
advanced its leading CRISPR-enabled synthetic lethality drug
discovery platform, identified several promising oncology targets
and moved multiple programs into preclinical development. Founders
Daniel Durocher, Ph.D., Agnel Sfeir, Ph.D., and Frank Sicheri,
Ph.D., and their respective institutions, played instrumental roles
in the company’s formation and growth in partnership with
Versant.
“Versant’s commitment to and confidence in Repare’s distinct
science has enabled the company to build the team, operations and
initial programs away from the spotlight,” said Repare CEO Lloyd M.
Segal. “With the added leadership of MPM and this syndicate, we are
financed to achieve our goal of testing our multiple new, precision
oncology therapeutics in a clinical setting.”
The core concept of synthetic lethality is that while a tumor
can tolerate individual defects in its DNA, there exist
combinations of defects that lead to the malignancy’s destruction.
The recent approvals of several PARP inhibitors provide clear
proof-of-principle for the approach of inducing synthetic
lethality. Repare and its founders have developed large-scale and
novel methods for discovering additional drug targets that, when
inhibited, may induce synthetic lethality. New drugs directed at
these targets hold promise to improve cancer treatment both as
single therapies and in combination with existing drugs and
treatments.
In addition to Segal, a Versant Entrepreneur-in-Residence,
Repare’s seasoned management team also includes R&D Head
Michael Zinda, Ph.D., who built and led AstraZeneca plc’s Oncology
iMed Bioscience group in Boston; and VP of Discovery Cameron Black,
Ph.D., an accomplished 18-year leader of Merck Frosst’s medicinal
chemistry efforts. Repare has a 20-member team based in Montreal
and Boston. To further guide this important investment both Jerel
Davis, Ph.D., managing director at Versant, and Todd Foley,
managing director at MPM Capital, will join Repare’s board of
directors.
“The fields of synthetic lethality and DNA repair have a rich,
20-year history and are poised to deliver impactful new cancer
treatments,” said Davis. “We are impressed by the speed and
precision with which Repare, in collaboration with its founders and
scientific advisors, generated impressive insights and multiple
novel targets.”
Repare’s first disclosed program targets DNA-directed DNA
polymerase theta (PolQ), a central component of a pathway that
repairs double-strand breaks in cancer cells. NYU School of
Medicine has licensed to Repare exclusive rights to drug discovery
work targeting PolQ, developed by Dr. Sfeir with the support of NYU
Office of Therapeutics Alliances (OTA). This unique polymerase is
highly expressed in ovarian, breast and a number of other cancers.
In parallel, Repare is progressing several additional programs,
with an aim to put its first compound in the clinic in 2019.
“We evaluated nearly every opportunity in the synthetic
lethality space and have complete conviction that Repare, its
founders and its SAB members represent the leaders in the field,”
said Foley. “MPM is dedicated to investing in and building
companies that seek to find cures for cancer and save lives and we
look forward to the advancement of Repare’s programs and the
development of these meaningful medicines.”
Repare’s founders and scientific advisors are leaders in
synthetic lethality and tumor repair machinery research. In
addition to Dr. Sfeir from the Department of Cell Biology and the
Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at NYU Langone Medical
Center and Drs. Durocher and Sicheri from Toronto’s
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Repare has assembled a
world-class scientific advisory board, including:
- Samuel Aparicio, Ph.D., chair of the
Breast Cancer Program at BC Cancer Agency and professor of
pathology and laboratory medicine at UBC, Vancouver.
- Jim Carmichael, M.D. FRCP, lead of the
Protein Homeostasis Thematic Center of Excellence at Celgene
Corporation. He previously was U.K. regional director of medical
science at AstraZeneca plc following its acquisition of KuDOS,
where he was CMO and responsible for clinical development of
olaparib.
- Ronny Drapkin, M.D., Ph.D., director of
the Penn Ovarian Cancer Research Center and director of gynecologic
cancer research at the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of
Pennsylvania.
- Laurie Glimcher, M.D., president and
CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Richard and Susan Smith
Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
- Mark Pegram, M.D., director of the
breast cancer oncology program at Stanford Women’s Cancer Center
and co-director of Stanford’s molecular therapeutics program.
- Richard Wood, Ph.D., professor of
molecular biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center.
About Repare
Repare is developing new, precision oncology drugs for patients
that target specific vulnerabilities of tumor cells. Its approach
integrates insights from several fields of cell biology including
DNA repair and synthetic lethality. Repare’s platform combines a
proprietary, high-throughput, CRISPR-enabled gene editing target
discovery method with high-resolution protein crystallography,
computational biology and clinical informatics. The company is
backed by leading global healthcare investors including founding
investor Versant Ventures and MPM Capital. For additional
information, please visit www.reparerx.com.
About Versant
Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare investment firm
committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next
generation of great healthcare companies. The firm invests across
the healthcare sector and at all stages of company development,
with an emphasis on the discovery and development of novel
therapeutics. With $2.3 billion under management and offices in
North America and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep
investment, operating, and scientific expertise that enables a
hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm's founding in
1999, more than 65 Versant companies have achieved successful
acquisitions or IPOs. For more information, please visit
www.versantventures.com.
About MPM Capital
MPM Capital is an early‐stage life sciences venture firm
founding and investing in companies that seek to cure major
diseases by translating scientific innovations into positive
clinical outcomes. MPM’s portfolio of companies aims to
revolutionize the face of medicine across multiple areas including
cancer, neuroscience, metabolic disorders, and regenerative
medicine. With its experienced and dedicated team of operating
executives and medical and scientific advisory board, MPM is
powering novel medical breakthroughs that transform patients’
lives. MPM has more than $2.6 billion dollars in assets under
management and is currently investing from two funds ─ the BV2014
and UBS Oncology Impact Fund. For further information, please visit
www.mpmcapital.com.
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a development capital fund that
channels the savings of Quebecers into investments. As at November
30, 2016, the organization had $12.2 billion in net assets, and
through its current portfolio of investments has helped create and
protect over 187,000 jobs. The Fonds is a partner in more than
2,600 companies and has nearly 618,000 shareholder-savers.
fondsftq.com.
About BDC Capital
With more than $2 billion under management, BDC Capital is
the investment arm of BDC, serving as a strategic partner to
Canada’s most innovative and high potential firms. It offers a
range of equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition
capital solutions to help Canadian entrepreneurs scale their
businesses into global champions. To find out more,
visit bdc.ca/capital.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170622005202/en/
Versant VenturesSteve Edelson,
415-801-8088sedelson@versantventures.com