Vaderis Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm working on a treatment for a rare, inherited bleeding disorder, has banked $152 million in a Series B venture round.
The fundraise announced Tuesday comes alongside news that Vaderis has started late-stage testing of that experimental drug, called engasertib, in people with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, or HHT. The company now has enough cash to sell engasertib on its own should the drug succeed in testing and get to market.
“We'll look at all strategic options as we go forward, but now we’re in a position to fully execute everything we intend to between now and 2029,” said Azmi Nabulsi, Vaderis’ CEO, in an interview with BioPharma Dive.
In people with HHT, genetic mutations cause abnormal blood vessels to form, triggering a host of potential health problems from persistent nosebleeds to chronic anemia or even heart failure. It also results in the appearance of small, visible blood vessels on the skin called telangiectasias. Though estimates vary, Vaderis believes the disease to affect 1 out of every 3,800 people in the U.S.
No curative therapies exist for HHT. Current treatments manage symptoms or involve procedures that can either destroy or block blood flow into malformed arteries. Multiple types of cancer drugs, among them Roche’s Avastin, are also used off-label to treat complications.
