Biotherapeutics company Attovia Therapeutics has launched with a $60 million Series A financing led by Frazier Life Sciences and joined by venBio and Illumina Ventures. The new company was formed by Frazier in collaboration with precision proteomics company Alamar Biosciences.
Attovia holds an exclusive worldwide license to Alamar’s novel proprietary biparatopic nanobody platform, Attobody. The company will use the new funding to achieve clinical proof-of-concept on its lead program in immune-mediated disease and nominate additional development candidates in immunology and oncology.
“By creating Attovia with Frazier and other investors, we can give the Attobody platform the dedicated attention and resources it deserves to fully realize its potential,” said Dr Yuling Luo, CEO of Alamar. “Alamar scientists developed the Attobody platform to improve the affinity and specificity of antibodies and we are very excited to expand its applications to therapeutic development.”
The Attobody platform generates small format binders, called “Attobodies,” which are ideal binders for hard-to-drug targets such as G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The companies have already successfully generated Attobodies against a host of membrane, soluble and viral targets.
Tao Fu, a venture partner at Frazier Life Sciences, will serve as Attovia’s CEO.
“The ability to combine two nanobodies into a single biparatopic Attobody creates opportunities to fine-tune therapies for specific targets and to expand the target universe,” said Fu. “I am excited to be partnering with a proven executive team, leading investors and an experienced board to develop medicines for some of the most prevalent disorders that still do not have ideal therapeutic solutions.”
Dr Jamie Topper, managing partner at Frazier Life Sciences, and Dr Aaron Royston, managing partner at venBio, also join Attovia’s Board of Directors.
“Company creation is one of Frazier’s core strategies, and we are thrilled to partner with Alamar and other investors to launch Attovia,” said Topper. “We believe Attovia is in a strong position to create a robust pipeline of first- and best-in-class drugs derived from the Attobody platform.”
“Small format nanobodies have demonstrated recent success in delivering best-in-class efficacy in select immune-mediated disease as evidenced by Acelyrin, one of our early investments,” said Royston. “We are thrilled to join the Attovia investor syndicate and to further advance the increasingly promising nanobody field.”
