MiroBio Raises $97 Million Series B Financing to Develop Checkpoint Agonists for Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

MiroBio Raises $97 Million Series B Financing to Develop Checkpoint Agonists for Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

• Financing led by Medicxi with significant participation from new and existing shareholders
• Lead program MB272 targeting checkpoint receptor BTLA, entering Phase I clinical trials
• Funds will be used to advance pipeline of immune checkpoint agonists into clinical trials in autoimmune diseases
  
  

OXFORD, United Kingdom, June 29 2022 – MiroBio (the “Company”), a leader in the development of checkpoint agonists to treat autoimmune diseases, today announces the completion of a US$97million (£80 million) Series B financing led by Medicxi with participation from new investors, OrbiMed and Monograph Capital and existing Series A investors, Oxford Science Enterprises, Samsara BioCapital, SR One and Advent Life Sciences.

Funds will primarily be used to advance MiroBio’s two lead antibody candidates into clinical trials and obtain safety and efficacy data in patients with autoimmune diseases. MB272 and MB151 are differentiated, precision-engineered checkpoint receptor agonists for BTLA (B- and T-Lymphocyte Attenuator) & PD-1 (Programmed cell Death protein 1) respectively, offering transformative therapeutic potential for patients. Proceeds will also be used to advance MiroBio’s pre-clinical pipeline and further develop the Company’s proprietary I-ReSToRE discovery platform. Following the fundraising Nick Williams of Medicxi and Erez Chimovits of OrbiMed will join MiroBio’s Board of Directors.

Eliot Charles, Chairman of MiroBio, said: “We are pleased to have such strong support from our new and existing investors. The addition of Medicxi, Orbimed and Monograph to our syndicate further consolidates our transatlantic investor base and board. As our lead asset, MB272 enters the clinic, this investor base provides us with the resources to demonstrate the unique potential of our checkpoint agonists as a new and exciting class of therapies for autoimmune patients. Beyond MB272, Miro is leveraging its I-ReSToRE platform to advance our pipeline programs towards the clinic and help realize our vision of restoring immune homeostasis in patients with autoimmune diseases.”

MiroBio created the I-ReSToRE platform (REceptor Selection and Targeting to Reinstate immune Equilibrium) to develop best- and first-in-class medicines to treat autoimmune diseases. This unique platform combines the proprietary Checkpoint Atlas™ of receptor expression and function, sophisticated antibody discovery processes and advanced bioinformatics enabling a precision medicine approach to autoimmune disease. I-ReSToRE supports identification and therapeutic application of checkpoint receptor agonists to restore immune homeostasis for patients.

Nick Williams, Partner at Medicxi, commented: “We are excited to be working with MiroBio to bring a new class of agents to patients with autoimmune disease. Checkpoint agonists have the potential to be more efficacious and safer than existing treatments and have the promise of restoring immune homeostasis. Miro’s differentiated approach is based on over 15 years of checkpoint agonism research at the University of Oxford and its medicines have best-in-class potential.”

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About MiroBio

MiroBio is a private biotechnology company formed out of Oxford University and backed by a strong group of international investors: Medicxi, OrbiMed, Oxford Science Enterprises, Samsara BioCapital, SR One, Advent Life Sciences and Monograph.

The Company is entering clinical stage development with a new class of checkpoint agonist antibodies to restore immune balance. MiroBio has developed I-ReSToRE, a proprietary discovery platform including the Checkpoint Atlas™ to generate multiple checkpoint agonist candidates for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The platform combines cutting-edge receptor mapping with epitope and antibody engineering. It is the product of more than 15 years’ foundational research from Oxford University into identifying and triggering checkpoint receptors to deliver safe, efficacious medicines to restore immune homeostasis.

Visit our website for more information: https://www.mirobio.com/

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