PRESS RELEASE
Bastion Therapeutics secures $840,000 in launch financing to develop advanced Treg therapeutics for inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases
London, 12 September, 2023 - Bastion Therapeutics (“Bastion”), a preclinical biotechnology company focused on restoring immune balance, has secured $840,000 in launch financing to develop its platform technology for engineering regulatory T cells (Tregs) to treat a range of inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases. The round was led by NG Bio, a specialist immunology and inflammatory diseases investor and venture builder, with participation from notable early-stage life sciences investors including Pioneer Group, Wren Capital, and Deep Science Ventures.
Bastion has already generated significant preclinical data, which validate its platform Treg engineering technology. The Company will utilise the new financing to build its research capabilities, continue product development towards the clinical development stage, and to open laboratory space in London.
Tregs are a vital component of the human immune system which naturally regulate inflammation in healthy individuals. In patients suffering from chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, the immune function is dysregulated and Tregs fail to control the excessive inflammation.
Bastion’s GRIT™ platform technology utilises genetic engineering to restore and enhance the patient’s Treg function while also targeting Tregs to specific sites of tissue inflammation. Bastion’s vision is to provide curative treatments that can transform the lives of patients rather than simply alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases.
“We are very excited to have secured financing to complete the preclinical testing of our ground-breaking platform technology and to advance our first therapeutic product towards the clinical development stage” said Nuno Madeira do Ó, Co-Founder and CEO at Bastion Therapeutics. “We are fortunate to have the support of a group of highly successful life sciences investors who share Bastion’s vision to achieve a curative treatment for inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases.”
“The therapeutic use of Tregs has the potential to fundamentally change the way we can treat patients suffering from a range of inflammatory disorders” added Nia Emami, Co-Founder and CSO at Bastion Therapeutics. “We have developed a unique and proprietary approach for enhancing the natural immune modulation effects of Tregs and enabling the targeting of these beneficial cells to sites of inflammation. Our aim is nothing short of delivering a curative solution for the millions of patients who suffer from inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases.”
Mohammad Khobreh, Co-Founder at NG Bio, said:
"We believe Bastion Therapeutics has an innovative approach to develop engineered Treg cell therapies for inflammatory disorders. Their novel platform technology should enable greater therapeutic success compared to previous generations of Treg cell therapies. By supporting Bastion at this pivotal stage, we look forward to helping accelerate the development of their programmes, ultimately revolutionising therapies for patients suffering from inflammatory disorders."
Glenn Crocker, Executive Director & Head of Ventures at Pioneer Group, added:
“Bastion Therapeutics’ innovative technology and unwavering commitment to developing advanced therapies for inflammatory conditions align perfectly with our mission to foster innovation in biotechnology. We are confident that Bastion Therapeutics’ approach will significantly impact the lives of patients in need and pave the way for a new era of Treg cell therapies. We look forward to seeing the Company progress.”
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Notes for Editors
About Bastion Therapeutics
Bastion Therapeutics is a preclinical stage biotechnology company leveraging proprietary platform technology to restore the function of Tregs in patients with a dysregulated immune condition. Bastion’s technology has been conceived and developed to overcome challenges associated with previous generations of Treg therapies. The company's vision is to provide life-changing, curative therapies for patients suffering from inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases.
Tregs can deliver a range of therapeutic benefits in a single treatment, effectively addressing the intricate and multifaceted nature of inflammatory disorders. Bastion Therapeutics' proprietary GRIT™ Platform (Genetically Reconfigured & Improved Treg) unlocks the full potential of Tregs by addressing the fundamental challenges that have limited previous generations of Treg cell therapies. Engineered with GRIT™ technology, Tregs can target active inflammation at tissues of interest with high specificity, suppress dysregulated immune responses, reinforce Treg phenotype stability within inflammatory microenvironments, and promote tissue repair and regeneration.
Bastion Therapeutics is focused on developing pioneering, best-in-class Treg cell therapies that can target the root causes of inflammatory disorders and provide long-term relief for patients. The Company is committed to addressing a wide range of inflammatory disorders, encompassing both neuroinflammatory and peripheral conditions, through their innovative Treg cell therapies. Bastion’s pipeline strategy comprises both autologous and allogeneic Treg cell therapies designed to restore immune balance with remarkable precision.
For more information about Bastion Therapeutics, visit www.bastion-tx.com. Follow Bastion Therapeutics: LinkedIn
About NG Bio
NG Bio is an early-stage investor and venture builder specialising in immunology and inflammatory diseases. The company invests in therapeutics from spin-out through to seed rounds, working with scientific and academic founders, and universities to de-risk any potential technologies.
For more information about NG Bio, visit www.ngbio.co.uk. Follow NG Bio: LinkedIn
About Pioneer Group
Pioneer Group’s mission is to help life sciences and high-tech businesses to thrive in tackling challenges in both human and planetary health. Across the UK and Ireland, Pioneer leads the way in integrating the provision of mission critical real estate, venture building and venture investment.
Since 2003 its connected cluster model has provided powerful sector-specific, business-focused ecosystems in which businesses are more likely to succeed.
Pioneer Group delivers the most comprehensive suite of accelerator and venture building activity across the UK and Ireland, helping founders to transfer cutting-edge discovery into visionary ventures that scale. Pioneer’s in-house team supports start-ups and scale-ups and works in partnership with organisations such as Innovate UK, AbbVie, Astellas, Academic Health Science Networks and many of the UK's strongest universities.
Pioneer also backs game-changing, early-stage life science companies with investment from its venture capital funds, alongside ongoing mentoring and assistance. The focus is on funding the most promising companies graduating from Pioneer’s venture building programmes and/or based at its campuses. Since 2015, Pioneer has supported over eighty early-stage ventures which have raised in excess of £200m.
For more information about Pioneer Group, visit www.thepioneergroup.com. Follow Pioneer Group: LinkedIn | YouTube
About Wren Capital
Wren Capital, whose managing partner is Rajat Malhotra (UK Business Angels Association’s Angel Investor of the Year for 2013), specialises in early stage investing in science, software and engineering. Wren has particular experience in investing in early-stage life sciences across different therapeutic areas as well as in medical devices and diagnostics. Wren is well known in the early-stage investment community and co-invests with a wide range of both angel and institutional investors.
For more information about Wren Capital, visit www.wrencapital.co.uk. Follow Wren Capital: LinkedIn
About Deep Science Ventures
Deep Science Ventures is creating a future where humanity and the planet thrive, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures. Deep Science Ventures operates in four sectors: Agriculture, Climate, Computation and Pharmaceuticals, tackling the challenges defining those areas by taking a first-principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.
For more information about Deep Science Ventures, visit www.deepscienceventures.com. Follow Deep Science Ventures: LinkedIn
Contacts
Nuno Madeira do Ó, Co-Founder and CEO
Bastion Therapeutics
Mohammad Khobreh, Co-Founder
Jason Goldstein, Co-Founder
NG Bio
Gemma Sturt, Investment Manager
Miranda Knaggs, Corporate Development Director
Pioneer Group
Rajat Malhotra, Partner
Wren Capital
Kerstin Papenfuss, Director Pharma
Deep Science Ventures
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