Causeway Therapeutics raises £8.75m for tennis elbow research
pharmafile | February 27, 2023 | News story | Medical Communications |
University of Glasgow spin-out Causeway Therapeutics has announced that it has raised £8.75m from investors, which will fund an international phase 2 clinical trial studying its lead compound TenoMIRä. It is hoped that TenoMIRä will have a positive impact against lateral epicondylitis, most commonly known as tennis elbow.
One in ten people will develop tennis elbow ‒ a type of tendinopathy ‒ and at the moment there is no approved therapy for it. TenoMIRä mimics a natural small RNA molecule called microRNA-29a (miR29a) which is lacking in damaged tendons; treatment with TenoMIRä restores cellular miR-29a.
A phase 1b study showed TenoMirä was safe and well-tolerated in patients. Declan Doogan, an experienced pharmaceutical executive, biotech entrepreneur and an alumnus of the University of Glasgow Medical School who will become the company’s executive chairman, stated: “These phase 1 results were truly impressive and gave me the confidence to lead this financing round personally and to take an active role in the company’s operations.”
Professor Iain McInnes, Causeway co-founder and vice principal and head of college of medical, veterinary and life sciences at the University of Glasgow and a world leading expert in rheumatological and musculoskeletal diseases, added: “It is gratifying to see the progress this team has made since the company was spun out of the University. The quality of the science and medical execution is superb, and we are proud that this University of Glasgow spin-out is showing such encouraging results. Causeway has been supported by the University and its IP and commercialisation team by both grants and equity, starting with a 2015 Scottish Enterprise proof of concept grant and continuing to GU Holdings’ participation in this recent equity raise. It is my hope that Causeway can become a pillar of a Glasgow start-up ecosystem and a Scottish biotech unicorn.”
James Spargo
