KLSC Partner Fund invests in COVID-19 ARDS treatment

MUNICH, Germany – KLSC partner fund, Wellington Partners, a leading European venture capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage life science companies, announces a seed investment into newly-founded SIRS Therapeutics, Munich, Germany.

With the investment, SIRS has secured the joint ownership with Austrian F4 Pharma of all rights on FX06, a fibrin-derived peptide for treatment of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), including patients with underlying COVID-19 infection.

In September of 2019, Wellington participated in the EUR 40 million (USD 44 million) Series D round of Themis Biosciences. The round was co-led by new investors, Farallon Capital and Hadean Ventures. MSD (tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA) and Adjuvant Capital, as well as current investors Global Health Investment Fund, aws Gruenderfonds, Omnes Capital, and Ventech. Themis is currently working on multiple viral vaccinations, including a WHO draft landscape candidate for COVID19 as well as  Chikungunya and measles. 

In early 2020, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents, after MERS and SARS, the third epidemic caused by coronaviruses in the 21st century. To date, SARS-CoV2 has evolved into a global pandemic with +2,000,000 confirmed cases and +120,000 deaths in +180 countries, with numbers in most countries still growing exponentially.

In general, most COVID-19 patients experience mild to moderate symptoms including fever, cough, dyspnoea, taste disturbances or muscle pain. However, thoracic x-rays of some patients present bilateral infiltrations known from interstitial pneumonia.

Critically ill patients, who constitute 2-9% of all infected people, progress from first symptoms and diagnosis to hypoxia and pneumonia and can reach life-threatening ARDS, for which acute treatment options are scarce.

FX06 is a 28 amino acids peptide derived from human fibrin that was first described by Prof. Peter Petzelbauer, head of the Department of Skin and Endothelium Research at the Vienna University Dermatological Clinic at the AKH. The peptide was found to bind to VE cadherin, thereby preventing the interaction with pro-inflammatory fibrin E1, reducing leukocyte extravasation and preserving the endothelial barrier – a function known to be impaired in SIRS and ARDS, where vascular leakage occurs.

The compound was clinically tested to be safe in more than 120 patients, with strong evidence for preclinical and clinical efficacy in indications that are accompanied by impaired endothelial barrier function.

The investment of the KLSC sponsored Wellington Partners Life Science Fund V (WPLS-V) will enable the completion of GMP production of ready to use clinical FX06 drug substance from existing bulk material to accelerate the clinical development for patients with ARDS and underlying COVID-19 infection. The planning of the clinical program and preparation for a phase II study are currently being finalized by SIRS Therapeutics and F4 Pharma.

Dr. Rainer Strohmenger, Managing Partner of Wellington Partners, commented: “We believe that FX06 could provide immediate value in the treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients with impaired lung function, sepsis and ARDS. The investment into SIRS Therapeutics has been made to accelerate the clinical development of this compound, which has already proven to be safe with strong hints for clinical efficacy in related pathologies on the basis of a well-understood mechanism of action.”

Thomas Steiner, Managing Director of F4 Pharma, and Co-founder Dr. Petra Wülfroth, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have gained the support of Wellington Partners for the development of FX06 in severely infected COVID-19 patients. Our mission is to make FX06 available for clinical testing in this indication of highest unmet medical need within the next couple of weeks. Our hope is that patients may respond to FX06 treatment in a similarly favorable way as was achieved in compassionate use during the 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa with a case report published in Lancet.”

About Wellington Partners

Wellington Partners is a leading European Venture Capital firm investing in early- and growth-stage life science companies. Wellington Partners is focused on investing in the most promising life science companies in the fields of biotechnology, therapeutics, medical technology, diagnostics, and digital health. With funds totaling more than EUR 1.0 billion, thereof EUR 430 million committed to Life Sciences, Wellington Partners has been actively supporting world-class private companies translating true innovation into successful businesses with exceptional growth. To date, Wellington Partners has invested in 47 innovative life science companies, including Actelion (acquired by J&J), Definiens (acquired by AZ), invendo (acquired by Ambu), Rigontec (acquired by MSD) and Symetis (acquired by Boston Scientific).

About Kuwait Life Sciences

KLSC was recognized as one of the top venture capital investors in the Middle East and North Africa by Arabian Business. KLSC also won two awards at the seventh annual Middle East Healthcare Leadership Awards for both Middle East Public Private Partnership of the Year for the Jaber Hospital PPP Sustainable Hospital Project as well as Healthcare Entrepreneur of the Year.
 
KLSC was also selected to participate in the prestigious World Economic Forum Global Health and Healthcare Community Meeting as part of the Future Trends in Health Task Force which was Chaired by Dr. Melanie Walker, Advisor to the President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Young Kim. KLSC was the only participant from Kuwait and had the honor of having seven out the 10 final key technological trends and themes accepted in the final outcome report of the forum.
 
KLSC is a regional thought leader within the Middle East life sciences industry and has championed the building of strong pillars of the local life sciences ecosystem including the region’s premiere pharmaceutical licensing and distribution platform; NewBridge - a 50 mn USD revenue company operating across all 22 MENA countries including Iraq, Iran and Turkey as well as South Africa, Clinart – the region’s top Clinical Research Organization (CRO), eCore – the region’s top active pharmaceutical ingredients licensor and distributor, the Life Sciences Academy – the region’s first ever training and development company focused on the healthcare and life sciences industry as well as Innomedics – one of Kuwait’s top medical device distribution companies that pioneered the distribution of personalized digital health products in the region.
 
The KLSC team have invested and co-invested with some of the world’s top life science venture capital funds including, New Leaf Venture Partners in New York, Wellington Partners in Munich and Kearny Venture Partners and Presidio Partners both of which are based in San Francisco. Notable investment direct and indirect investment include: CRISPR Therapeutics - a leading personalized genomic medicine company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts (NASDAQ: CRSP), iRhythm Technologies, based in San Francisco (NASDAQ: IRTC), Quanta Fluid Solutions – one of the world’s first home hemodialysis manufacturers, Median Technologies – a leading global provider of medical imaging solutions, especially in the field of oncology based in France (EPA: ALMDT).

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