EvlaBio raises €21 million Seed Funding to Develop a Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in the Setting of Chronic Kidney Disease
EvlaBio’s lead program consists of a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody treatment with the potential to transform outcomes for millions of patients
EvlaBio, a life science startup pioneering innovative therapies for the treatment of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) in the setting of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), announced today the successful closing of its seed funding round, one of the largest seed rounds closed in Germany to date. The financing will support the advancement of EvlaBio’s lead program, a first-in-class therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting specifically the FGF23/FGFR4 signaling in the setting of CKD, one of the key drivers for LVH, which can lead to heart failure.
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Founded with a mission to address high unmet medical need in the cardiorenal field, EvlaBio is developing a targeted treatment for patients suffering from CKD with limited therapeutic options. The company’s lead asset is a novel monoclonal antibody designed to inhibit the pathological FGF23/ FGFR4 cardiac signaling axis — a critical driver of cardiac remodeling in patients with CKD.
“Despite recent advances, the clinical need in LVH in the context of CKD remains significant, with high prevalence and substantial negative impact on patients’ outcomes. Even with improved management of hypertension and anemia, LVH often persists or even progresses in CKD patients”, said Wenzel von der Heydte, CEO & Co- Founder of EvlaBio. “EvlaBio’s approach is unique in its ability to directly target a key pathway on the cardiomyocyte level. This new therapeutic avenue has the potential to improve lives of millions of patients.”
The program originates from Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC), a company established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, where it has been developed in collaboration with KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG (KHAN-I).
“Blocking cardiac FGF23/FGFR4 overdrive has the strong potential to become a very promising treatment option for millions of patients facing a high risk of cardiac remodeling and progression to heart failure in CKD,” said Thomas Kirmeier, COO & Co- Founder of EvlaBio. “Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in this patient population and our therapeutic approach offers a promising strategy to modify disease progression at its root.”
The seed round was led by Kurma Partners, AdBio Partners, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, NRW.Venture (NRW.BANK) and HTGF, and will enable EvlaBio to complete preclinical development and progress towards IND-enabling studies.
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