London-headquartered Purespring Therapeutics, a gene therapy startup transforming the treatment of kidney diseases, has raised £80 million funding. The oversubscribed Series B round was led by Sofinnova Partners (which recently invested in deepc and Cure51), in collaboration with a prominent syndicate including Gilde Healthcare, Forbion, British Patient Capital via the £425 million Future Fund and founding investor Syncona Limited.
Proceeds will be used to support Purespring’s pipeline, including the initiation of a Phase I/II clinical trial for IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), a common, chronic kidney disease primarily affecting young adults. About one third of IgAN patients will go on to lose their kidney function within five years and require a kidney transplant or dialysis.
Disrupts kidney disease care
Led by CEO Julian Hanak, Purespring treats kidney disease models by directly targeting the podocyte, a specialised cell implicated in approximately 60% of renal diseases, through its proprietary adeno-associated viral (AAV) gene therapy platform.
It currently has a pipeline of programmes in development, including its lead programme PS-002, in development IgAN, and other complement mediated kidney diseases, a programme targeting nephrotic syndrome, and an undisclosed glomerular kidney disease programme.
Purespring will present its IgAN data publicly for the first time at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week congress on October 26 in San Diego.
Ian Connatty, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, British Business Bank, said: “Our investment into Purespring Therapeutics fits perfectly into our strategy to support the UK’s life sciences and is the type of UK growth company which could benefit further by unlocking the potential of institutional investment. We need to support companies like Purespring as they go through development and trials before coming to market.Providing that capital simultaneously stimulates growth and helps to solve pressing medical challenges that will deliver long-term outcomes for generations to come.”
Investors’ views
Maina Bhaman, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said: “Purespring Therapeutics is pioneering the treatment of kidney disease. The team’s ambition and calibre epitomise Sofinnova’s mission of scientific and entrepreneurial excellence in delivering transformative treatments to patients. We are excited to support the Purespring team as they bring their groundbreaking innovation to the global stage.”
Michael Kyriakides, Investment Partner at Syncona Investment Management and Board Director of Purespring Therapeutics, said: “Syncona founded Purespring with the vision of creating the world’s leading kidney gene therapy company, and we have been impressed with its progress. Today’s financing and the strong syndicate of investors that the Company has attracted broadens Purespring’s financial scale and clearly validates its technology, strategy and execution to date. We look forward to working alongside Purespring and its new syndicate as it prepares for its Phase I/II clinical trial.”
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