Portfolio Highlights: Clinical and Financing Updates of Anji, AIxplorerBio, Domain, VivaVision, ArrePath, QurAlis and Apeiron

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May 26, 2022, 11:53 ET

SHANGHAI, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the investment division of Viva Biotech, Viva BioInnovator is committed to being a collaborative platform for Innovative Biotech companies from around the world. Over the past 2 month, our portfolio companies have had great progress.

Anji Pharma Completes Patient Enrollment in Phase 2 Study of Pradigastat in Functional Constipation

On May 18, 2022, Anji Pharma, an emerging global medicines company which invested and incubated by Viva BioInnovator, announced it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2 proof of concept study of pradigastat (ANJ908), a diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) inhibitor, in patients with functional constipation. Anji plans to report topline data from this study in the second half of 2022.

AIxplorerBio Entered A Broad Collaboration with Baidu's PaddleHelix to Expedite the Construction of Its AI Small Molecule Drug R＆D Platform

On May 18, AIxplorerBio, a Viva BioInnovator portfolio company, announced a broad collaboration with PaddleHelix. The two parties will leverage their strengths and collaborate in the fields of de novo molecular design and druggability evaluation, to accelerate new AI-powered drug research and development platform. The collaboration takes fully advantage of PaddleHelix's strengths in AI technologies and AIxplorerBio's experience in new drug R＆D and experiemental capabilities to jointly develop AI-powered drug discovery models. Dr. David. Xu, CEO of AIxplorerBio, emphasized, "AIxplorerBio is an AI-powered, structure-based drug R&D biotech company. The collaboration with Baidu's PaddleHelix will help enhance our new AI drug R＆D platform - AIxMolTM, and speed up the development of our pipeline."

Domain Therapeutics Raises $42m Series A Financing

On May 10, Domain Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of innovative drugs targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) in immuno-oncology, announced the closing of a US $42m (€39m) series A financing round co-led by Panacea Venture, CTI Life Sciences and 3B Future Health Fund, and joined by adMare BioInnovations, Schroders Capital, Omnes, Turenne Capital, Theodorus, Viva BioInnovator and existing investor Seventure Partners.

VivaVision Announces That VVN539 Has Been Formally Submitted for U.S. Phase II Clinical Trial Application

VivaVision, an innovative ophthalmic drug company which invested and incubated by Viva BioInnovator, announced that it has submitted a Phase II clinical trial application for the new drug VVN539 for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma to the FDA on May 5, 2022, and will start the clinical study in June 2022.

VVN539 is a new generation, dual-targeted IOP-lowering drug that acts on the trabecular meshwork of the eye to increase the outflow of aqueous humor, thereby reducing IOP. In preclinical animal models, VVN539 has shown excellent IOP-lowering efficacy.

ArrePath Announces Appointment of Dr. Bret Benton as Vice President of Microbiology

ArrePath, an anti-infective drug discovery company addressing the global health challenge of drug resistant infections, which invested and incubated by Viva BioInnovator, recently announced that a new appointment of Dr. Bret Benton as Vice President, Microbiology.

Bret will become part of ArrePath's senior leadership team, leading their Princeton based operations, bringing a wealth of expertise to company in applying imaging and machine learning technologies to the discovery and development of new classes of anti-infectives.

Dr. Kasper Roet, CEO of QurAlis, Selected for The 2022 Henri Termeer Award

On April 21, 2022, The Termeer Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting life science innovators and catalyzing the creation of new medicines, announced the recipients of the 2022 Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award. Dr. Kasper Roet, co-founder and CEO of QurAlis, a biotech company that invested and incubated by Viva BioInnovator, was recognized as an honoree at the Innovation for Health conference.

Apeiron Completed A $17.5 Million Series A Financing and Established A New Strategic Partnership with Viva Biotech

GT Apeiron Therapeutics ("Apeiron") announced it has completed a $17.5 million series A financing. Panacea Venture led the investment round with participation from Viva BioInnovator and existing investors. This is the company's second round of financing in the last year following a Pre-A+ round in May 2021. The investment will enable the company to advance its lead CDK7 program to enter clinical trials, as well as several earlier stage programs.

Apeiron also announced a strategic partnership with Viva Biotech under which Viva Biotech provides world-leading structure-based drug discovery expertise to enhance Apeiron's AI-empowered innovative drug discovery and development platform.

About Anji Pharma

Anji Pharma is a clinical-stage company dedicated to bringing life-changing therapies to patients across the globe. Anji's asset-centric business model allows for speed and flexibility in building value, leveraging a clinical and regulatory core that operates with "hub-and-spoke" efficiency. Anji's clinical pipeline includes gut-targeted metformin (ANJ900 in Phase 3) intended for glucose management in patients with type 2 diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease, as well as pradigastat (ANJ908 in Phase 2) for treatment of functional constipation. For more info, visit www.anjipharma.com.

About AIxplorerBio

We are an AI-powered, structure-based drug R&D biotech company. We focus on the discovery and development of new medicines for immunological and neurodegenerative diseases. In the quest for the new medications, we are committed to creating a AI-powered, data-driven, structure-based, efficient drug R&D paradigm through introduction, cooperation and technological innovation. For more info, visit http://www.aixplorerbio.com.

About Domain Therapeutics

Domain Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company operating in France and Canada, is dedicated to the discovery and development of new drug candidates targeting G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), one of the most important classes of drug targets. The company focuses on developing high-value drug candidates to tackle GPCR-mediated immunosuppression in immune-oncology. www.domaintherapeutics.com

About VivaVivion Biotech

VivaVision is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on best-in-class and first-in-class therapies for ocular diseases. Besides VVN001 program, VivaVision is developing VVN539 for the treatment for Glaucoma or Ocular Hypertension, and VVN461 for the treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammation of Uveitis. VivaVision is also engaged in discovery and development of novel therapies for the treatment of other anterior and posterior eye diseases. For more info, visit www.vivavisionbio.com.

About ArrePath

ArrePath is an anti-infective drug discovery company addressing the global health challenge of drug resistant infections. The company's proprietary machine learning (ML)-based platform enables the rapid and efficient identification of anti-infective agents with new mechanisms of action at the outset of the discovery process, through a deep understanding and analysis of pathogen behavior. The platform's proof-of-concept has been demonstrated in studies published in Cell by ArrePath's scientific founder, Zemer Gitai, Ph.D., Edwin Grant Conklin Professor of Biology at Princeton University. Learn more at www.arrepath.com.

About QurAlis

QurAlis is trailblazing the path to conquering amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases with genetically validated targets with next-generation precision medicines. QurAlis' proprietary platforms and unique biomarkers enable the design and development of drugs that act directly on disease-causing genetic alterations. Founded by an internationally recognized team of neurodegenerative biologists from Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, QurAlis is advancing a deep pipeline of antisense oligonucleotides and small molecule programs including addressing sub-forms of ALS that account for the majority of ALS patients. For more information, please visit www.quralis.com.

About GT Apeiron Therapeutics

Apeiron is strategically based in Shanghai and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with significant collaborations in the UK enabling us to tap into technologies and talent from all three continents. Our team and partners bring together deep expertise in oncology and drug discovery to enable efficient and scalable discovery and development of novel drugs. To learn more, please visit http://www.apeiron-bio.com.

SOURCE Viva Biotech