Bird & Bird advises Forbion on £35 million Series A Financing in LoQus23 Therapeutics
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International law firm Bird & Bird has advised lead investor Forbion on the £35 million (c.$43 million) Series A financing in LoQus23 Therapeutics, to advance its small molecule somatic expansion inhibition therapy for Huntington’s disease.
LoQus23, a private biotechnology company investigating small molecule drugs that could stop DNA instability and slow neurodegeneration in Huntington’s Disease, myotonic dystrophy type 1 and similar triplet repeat expansion diseases. The financing round was led by Forbion, alongside existing investors SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and Novartis Venture Fund (NVF).
Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder for which there is currently no disease modifying treatment available and which has 30,000 patients in the US alone. By targeting somatic expansion, LoQus23 is hoping to slow or even halt the onset and progression of Huntington’s disease, a concept supported by genetic studies and recently strengthened by pre-clinical models.
The proceeds of the Series A financing will be used to support the pre-clinical development and initial clinical studies of LoQus23’s lead programme, an allosteric small molecule MutSβ inhibitor. The Company is preparing its lead programme to enter the clinic in 2026.
The Bird & Bird Team was led by James Baillieu (partner, Corporate) and included Will Holder (senior associate, Corporate) as well as Saskia King (partner, FDI) and Tenisha Cramer (associate, FDI).
James Baillieu, Corporate Partner at Bird & Bird commented: “We were delighted to advise Forbion on this exciting investment into Loqus23. We wish the Loqus23 team all the best as they seek to develop an effective treatment for Huntington’s. It’s another great example of the excellent work carried out by our market leading venture capital and life sciences practices.”
Rogier Rooswinkel, General Partner at Forbion commented: “Somatic expansion is a key driver of triplet repeat diseases like Huntington’s. In somatic expansion, MutSβ seems the most promising and best validated target, with the potential to bring disease progression to a halt. LoQus23 is leading the charge in developing allosteric small molecules against MutSβ, and we look forward to working with them to progress their molecules towards the clinic and ultimately to benefit patients. It was a pleasure working with Bird & Bird, whose venture capital and life sciences expertise helped us to successfully complete the deal.”
Dr David Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer of LoQus23 Therapeutics, said: “This financing will enable us to develop key clinical data to support the development of our exciting lead programme. The ever-increasing body of data pointing to somatic expansion, caused by aberrant DNA mismatch repair, as being the primary culprit in Huntington’s disease provides great support that our approach of developing oral small molecule therapies will be transformative for patients with this dreadful inherited disease. We welcome Forbion as the lead investor of this round, alongside our existing high calibre investors, and look forward to benefiting from their support and expertise.”