Apic Bio picks up $40m

Apic Bio, a US-based genetic disease therapeutics spinout of University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), closed a $40m series A round on Monday led by Morningside Venture Capital, the VC arm of investment firm Morningside Group.
The round included Alpha-1 Project, a profit-led subsidiary of Alpha-1 Foundation, as well as the ALS Investment Fund and A1ATD Investors.
Founded in 2017, Apic Bio is a genetic disease therapy developer focused on tackling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disorder commonly known as motor neuron disease which causes progressive immobility, and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited malady with the potential to cause serious lung or liver disease.
The spinout’s primary drug candidates, APB-101 and APB-102, aim to counteract Alpha-1 and ALS respectively. APB-101 works by silencing a harmful protein called Z-AAT and bolstering M-AAT protein levels, while APB-102 targets a genetic mutation called C9orf72 strongly linked to ALS.
Apic Bio will use the cash to continue development on both candidates in addition to unspecified pre-clinical programs.
The money will also help Apic Bio design additional drugs based on its Thrive approach, which suppresses mutated genes and replaces them with natural, healthy equivalents.
Jason Dinges, investment adviser and intellectual property counsel at Morningside Technology Advisory, part of Morningside Group, will join Apic Bio’s board of directors. Felix von Coerper, fund manager at ALS Investment Fund, will become a board observer.
Apic Bio’s platform extends research conducted by co-founder and chief scientific officer Christian Mueller, an associate professor of paediatrics at UMMS who led research into Alpha-1 deficiency at the university’s Horae Gene Therapy Center, and co-founder Terry Flotte, provost and executive deputy chancellor of UMMS.
Alpha-1 Project previously provided Apic Bio with an undisclosed amount of seed funding in August 2017.