With a $157 million series C funding round, Hemab Therapeutics is looking to infuse innovation into the treatment landscape for rare and underserved bleeding disorders.
The oversubscribed series C was led by Sofinnova Partners, with “substantial participation” from a large unnamed global asset management company, according to an Oct. 27 release from the biotech.
In addition, existing investors including Novo Holdings, RA Capital Management and Rock Springs Capital were joined in the fundraising effort by new investors Qatar Investment Authority and Avoro Capital Advisors, Hemab said.
Hemab will use the new funding, in part, to drive development for sutacimig, a midstage asset that the biotech is positioning as the first prophylactic treatment for Glanzmann thrombasthenia. The company aims to fill in the gaps in the current bleeding disorder treatment landscape and offer “comprehensive” solutions for patients afflicted by conditions with high unmet need, it said.
"The quality of our investor syndicate and this significant financing validate our approach and enable us to continue building what we believe will become the ultimate clotting company," CEO Benny Sorenson, M.D., Ph.D., explained in the release. “Hemab's unprecedented deep domain expertise in clotting science, combined with our team’s proven capabilities in advancing programs from early development through approval and commercialization, uniquely positions us to deliver breakthrough therapies.”
Glanzmann thrombasthenia is a rare genetic bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of the platelet integrin alpha IIb beta3, which prevents blood from properly clotting. In a phase 2 study, sutacimig achieved clinically meaningful bleeding reduction, according to the biotech. Next year, it will be evaluated in factor VII deficiency, another bleeding disorder, Hemab said.
The drug candidate is a subcutaneously administered bispecific antibody that’s meant to mimic the function of factor VIIa, a blood-clotting protein, while targeting activated platelets at the site of bleeding.
Hemab’s other clinical asset is HMB-002, a monovalent antibody that the company is developing as a bleeding prophylactic for patients with von Willebrand disease, another genetic disorder that impacts blood clotting. Data have so far shown that the drug can directly target the underlying pathophysiology of the disease by increasing both von Willebrand factor and factor VIII levels.
The biotech anticipates the new funding will help advance HMB-002 into a registration study.
As the company advances development of the asset, Hemab plans to be conscious of the real-world experience of those living with the disease based on lessons from its "portfolio of groundbreaking natural history studies," according to the release.
Hemab remains “technology-agnostic” and instead selects the optimal scientific approach for each specific condition it targets with a precision approach that utilizes “targeted solutions rather than generic approaches,” the biotech says on its website.
The approach previously caught the eye of several big-name investors, which pitched in on a $135 million series B financing round in 2023 and a $55 million series A haul in 2021.
Sofinnova Partners partner Joe Anderson, Ph.D., who nabbed a seat on Hemab’s board in conjunction with the recent funding, highlighted the company’s “deep scientific excellence and strong clinical execution,” making it a “standout company in the biotech landscape,” he said.
Along with carrying along its existing programs, the company hopes to carve out its pipeline further in line with its 1-2-5 strategy. The 1-2-5 concept was previously aimed at bringing five assets to the clinic by 2025 but now targets a more general goal of “advancing five development projects” by 2025.
As it stands, the company’s pipeline lists just sutacimig and HMB-002, but Hemab figures the new capital should help usher additional candidates into clinical development, including a prospect called HMB-003 in 2026.