Date: 2013-02-14
Type of information: Fundraising
Company: Domainex (UK)
Investors: Longbow Capital (UK) Bury Fitzwilliam-Lay and Partners (UK) University College London Business (UCLB - UK)
Amount: £1.5m
Funding type: financing round
Planned used: The investment will be used to advance Domainex’s kinase based drug development programmes against TBK1/IKKe and epigenetics targets.
Others: * On February 14, 2013, Domainex Ltd., a UK-based drug discovery company, has announced an investment round to raise £1.5m of capital. This round had a successful first close in December 2012, with investments made by Longbow Capital, Bury Fitzwilliam-Lay and Partners and University College London Business (UCLB), who together represent the interests of more than half of Domainex’s current shareholders.
Longbow Capital is leading the round and will now seek to raise the remaining investment before a second close at end of April.
The investment will be used to advance Domainex’s kinase based drug development programmes against TBK1/IKKepsilon and epigenetics targets. Domainex’s programmes targeting these oncogenic kinases have showed utility in cancer, and also potential in many inflammatory diseases. Last November, Domainex has that it has developed a number of chemical series with potent and selective activity against two closely-related kinases TBK1 and IKKepsilon. IL-17 mediated signaling is known to induce the expression of cytokines and other effectors that can cause a variety of immunological diseases such as psoriasis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Domainex researchers have reported that small-molecule inhibitors of TBK1/IKKepsilon are able to affect IL-17 signaling. Domainex has developed three series of drug-like compounds, each series having inhibitors with high potency and selectivity against other kinases. The lead compounds have good metabolic properties and the company is close to the selection of a clinical candidate. Some of the investment will be used to ensure Domainex moves this programme forward to an out-licensing deal with a pharma partner. The majority of the investment will be used to progress its epigenetics portfolio targeting lysine methyltransferases.
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Inflammatory diseases - Immunological diseases
