7 September 2018 - - US-based biotechnology company Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics has completed its USD 65m series A financing, the company said.

Founding investor MPM Capital and Novartis Venture Fund co-led the financing. They were joined by additional investors including Johnson and Johnson Innovation JJDC, Inc., Vertex Ventures HC, Longwood Fund, and Astellas Venture Management.

The funding will be used to advance 28-7's lead programme, aimed at the discovery and development of small molecules that increase the levels of the tumor suppressor microRNA (miRNA), Let-7, into serious cancer indications.

In addition, 28-7 announced that Shomir Ghosh, Ph.D., has joined as its chief scientific officer.

Most recently CSO and a founding scientist at IFM Therapeutics, Dr. Ghosh has 25 years of scientific research, drug discovery and development experience in biotech and large pharma, and has successfully delivered multiple compounds into preclinical and clinical development in the immunology, oncology and CNS therapeutic areas.

28-7's initial focus is on modulating miRNAs, which are short ncRNAs that inhibit target gene expression by suppressing mRNA translation and/or promoting mRNA decay. It is now well recognized that miRNAs are directly involved in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. 28-7's technology does not focus on directly targeting the RNA itself or on developing oligonucleotides, but rather targets RNA modulating proteins, enabling the use of small molecule drug candidates with broader access to cells and tissues. 

Let-7 is an miRNA that suppresses the translation of oncogenes in cells, and low levels of this miRNA are correlated with greater cancer aggressiveness.

The company's leading protein target is Lin28, an RMP that reduces the levels of Let-7, and has been shown to be an oncogene, promoting cellular transformation and tumorigenesis.

28-7 is developing first-in-class drugs that inhibit Lin28's activity and thus raise levels of Let-7 for treatment of various cancers.

MPM Capital is a healthcare investment firm founding and investing in life sciences companies that seek to cure major diseases by translating scientific innovations into positive clinical outcomes. MPM invests in breakthrough therapeutics, with a focus on oncology.

Novartis Venture Fund is a financially driven independent corporate life science venture fund whose purpose is to foster innovation, drive significant patient benefit and generate superior returns by creating and investing in innovative life science companies at various stages of their development.

Johnson and Johnson Innovation JJDC Inc. is the strategic venture capital arm of Johnson and Johnson and a long-term investment partner to global healthcare entrepreneurs.

Founded in 1973, JJDC continues a legacy of customizing deals for data-driven companies across the continuum of healthcare, with the goal of turning great ideas into transformative new pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer healthcare products.

Vertex Ventures HC is a global life sciences focused venture capital fund investing in disruptive biopharmaceuticals, therapeutic medical devices and digital health companies of various stages.

The company seeks to build great companies that improve the health and quality of human life, with a focus on areas with significant unmet needs.

With investments to date including Twelve, Visterra, Obsidian Therapeutics, Palleon Pharma, and others, Vertex Ventures HC enjoys a close relationship with the industry's top decision makers, talent, and influencers in both established and emerging markets.

Longwood Fund is a venture capital firm dedicated to creating and investing in novel healthcare companies that develop important treatments to help patients while targeting significant value for investors.

The Longwood team has a long-term history of successfully launching and building important healthcare companies while providing operational leadership and strategic guidance.

Astellas Venture Management, based in Menlo Park, California, is a corporate venture capital of Astellas Pharma Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

For nearly two decades, AVM has been making strategic investments to achieve its mission to explore emerging innovative companies, which have potential to become API's collaboration partners in R and D.

Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the modulation of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) function to treat cancer and other human diseases. Targeting ncRNA modulating proteins, the company can use small molecules to modulate expression levels of oncogenes and other proteins of significance.

The company's core technology comes from its four founding scientists, all leading researchers in RNA biology and cancer.