New Delhi, Feb. 5 -- 108 BioCapital, a US-based healthcare-focused growth fund, has made its maiden investment by backing Pinwheel Therapeutics, a biopharma startup conducting mid-stage clinical trials for an anticoagulant reversal therapy.
The investment firm, backed by billionaire Ranjan Pai's Claypond Capital, has committed $20 million (Rs 180 crore) to Connecticut-based Pinwheel Therapeutics to advance its anticoagulant reversal therapy, Ciraparantag, into Phase2b clinical trials. Phase 2b studies are designed to evaluate the efficacy of a drug.
Ciraparantag, currently undergoing clinical trials in the US, is being developed as a universal reversal option for emergency blood-thinning management in hospital and acute-care settings. The therapy will be administered as a ready-to-use intravenous injection and is expected to cost a fraction of existing reversal therapies and procoagulant clotting factor cocktails, 108 BioCapital said in a statement.
Pinwheel holds global rights and patents for Ciraparantag until at least the first quarter of 2034. The company also has the flexibility to re-license the therapy across territories, which could "generate significant revenues and further de-risk the asset ahead of a strategic exit," 108 BioCapital said.
Ciraparantag is positioned as a potential replacement for blood thinner reversal drug Andexxa, which was withdrawn from the US market after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) observed fatal outcomes in patients treated with the drug.
"This is our inaugural investment and represents a compelling next-generation, clinical-stage anticoagulant reversal opportunity. This fund is focused on targeting biotech and medtech companies addressing high-impact, unmet medical needs with a clear emphasis on regulatory and commercial readiness," said Sasha Bakhru, managing partner and CEO of 108 BioCapital.
108 BioCapital is a private equity-style investor specializing in biotechnology and medical technology companies. The fund is led by doctors and industry veterans including Bakhru, Shahryar Oveissi, Shom Jagtiani, and Steve Ward.
The fund marked its first close at over $40 million in January and has initiated the registration process for a GIFT City feeder vehicle. Besides Manipal Group chair Ranjan Pai's family office Claypond Capital, its investors include the family office of Silverlake Partners' executive Mike Bingle,, Bharat Serum's promoters, Erba TransAsia Group's chairman Suresh Vazirani, and Paragon Partners' founder Siddharth Parekh.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.