Resolution Therapeutics was co-founded by Syncona, a UK-based investment trust focused on helping to found, fund and progress healthcare companies, in 2020 after a two-year collaboration with scientific co-founders Stuart Forbes, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and his team, and John Campbell, Director of Tissues, Cells and Advanced Therapeutics at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion service and a professor at the University of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Forbes and Campbell demonstrated that macrophage cells, a type of white blood cell that plays multiple roles including surrounding and killing pathogenic microbes, can help the body to regenerate tissue after injury.
Resolution announced this week that it had raised £63.5 million (US$ 83 million) in Series B financing. The round adds to an earlier £26.6 million (US$ 35 million) Series A financing announced in 2020.
Both financing round were led by Syncona, which has a range of biotech companies in its portfolio including Autolus Therapeutics, Beacon Therapeutics, iOnctura, Anaveon, and Purespring Therapeutics, among others.
Resolution plans to use the new financing to progress RTX001, its lead candidate, into clinical trials. RTX001 is an engineered autologous macrophage cell therapy for treatment of end stage liver disease.
“This is a potential first-in-class product being developed for a disease where patients have no effective therapeutic options and typically face a liver transplant or further deterioration of their condition, which is often fatal,” said Edward Hodgkin, Managing Partner of Syncona Investment Management Limited and Non-Executive Director of Resolution, in a press statement.
“We are delighted to continue to support Resolution with our commitment to its Series B financing, in-line with Syncona’s focus on allocating capital to clinical-stage assets and assets approaching clinical entry.”
A new cell therapy focus
Resolution’s lead candidate therapy is designed to regenerate the liver in end stage liver disease patients by increasing anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects.
The first version of the therapy was tested in a small, safety study and a subsequent phase 2 trial in patients with liver cirrhosis carried out by Campbell, Forbes and colleagues.
Resolution Therapeutics was formed based on these early findings and in June this year the company received approval to begin a phase 1/2 study of RTX001 in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. The EMERALD trial will be carried out in the UK and Spain and plans to start patient recruitment before the end of the year.
The company will also use some of the finding to continue to research other indications that could benefit from the regenerative potential of macrophage therapy, as well as strengthening its manufacturing facilities and production capabilities.
“As we prepare to advance RTX001, our lead investigational macrophage therapy with first-in-class potential for the treatment of end-stage liver disease, into the clinic this year, we are grateful for Syncona’s continued support,” said Amir Hefni, CEO of Resolution.
“In addition, we are pleased to welcome Paul Sekhri to our Board of Directors. Paul brings a wealth of experience leading top-tier companies to develop breakthrough medicines, including novel treatments for patients with autoimmune disease.”
