Excellergy has emerged with $70 million and an investigative drug class in its portfolio, part of its ambitious mission to achieve complete therapeutic control of several allergic conditions by stopping the diseases at the source.
California VC Samsara BioCapital led the biotech’s series A round, with Red Tree Venture Capital and Decheng Capital in tow, according to an Oct. 13 release.
The freshly unveiled Excellergy will channel the $70 million toward advancing its preclinical portfolio into the clinic, with plans for a lead asset to enter human testing early next year.
The Palo Alto, California-based biotech is developing a potentially first-in-class drug type called effector cell response inhibitors (ECRIs) in hopes of ultimately redefining the standard of care for several allergic diseases.
ECRIs are based on scientific advances related to the structural binding of immunoglobulin E (IgE)—a type of immune system antibody—discovered at Stanford University in California and the University of Bern in Switzerland.
The trifunctional ECRIs are designed to stop allergic responses at the source by directly removing IgE antibodies that are bound to the FceRI receptors without activating mast cells and basophils. The aim is to boost efficacy, speed up relief onset and offer complete control of allergic responses, according to the company.
The strategy builds off clinically validated IgE biology but is intended to excel beyond traditional anti-IgE methods by acting across several pathways and directly disarming effector cells, according to the release.
“We are not here to refine the status quo,” Excellergy President and CEO Todd Zavodnick said in the release. “We are here to build a portfolio of category-defining assets that will advance and reset the standard of care in allergy.”
“As each program represents a true pipeline-in-a-product, we are unlocking a multi-billion-dollar opportunity across a broad range of allergic conditions, while delivering the potential to improve the lives of millions of patients worldwide,” added Zavodnick, who most recently captained Roivant’s Dermavant Sciences.
Excellergy’s CEO is joined by co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Geoffrey Harris, Ph.D., who founded and led liver-focused Ocelot Bio, and Chief Medical Officer Philip Brown, M.D., who previously held the same title at Dermavant.
The newly emerged biotech formed back in 2021, with California-based Red Tree providing seed money for the startup.