Newton Biocapital invests in PRISM BioLab to support development of a unique peptide mimetic technology platform to discover new drugs for intractable diseases
Newton Biocapital (“Newton”), a life sciences investment fund active in Europe and Japan and focused on the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases, has announced its new investment in PRISM BioLab, Inc. (“PRISM”) in Japan. As a co-lead investor, Newton invested EUR 2 million (JPY 250 million) in PRISM as part of a total round of EUR 10 million.
With this investment, PRISM will continue the development of its original peptide mimetic technology platform called ‘PepMetics™’, establishing new clinical pipelines in the fields of cancer and fibrosis, aiming to discover new drugs for various of intractable diseases.
Dai Takehara, CEO of PRISM: “We’re very pleased to be supported by Newton, which has a wealth of investment experience and achievements in biotechnology and life sciences businesses. We believe that PepMetics™ of PRISM is a very promising technology that can be used to address difficult targets with small molecule compounds. We will continue to take this opportunity to further enhance our R&D activities to lead the creation of innovative drugs."
Guy Heynen, Clinical & Regulatory Director at Newton: “PRISM’s unique library comprises α-helix or β-turn mimicking compounds that can be tailored to disrupt interactions between intrinsically disordered proteins, an emerging class of targets in various diseases including bladder cancer. PRISM’s recent deals with global pharmaceutical companies demonstrates the great potential of the company’s unique approaches. With this new financing, we hope to support PRISM in becoming one of the leading companies in the drug discovery field.”
Alain Parthoens, Managing Partner of Newton: “As the co-lead investor and a Belgium-based fund, we’re very pleased to be supporting the innovative technologies emerging from Japan. Prism’s technology is a proof that Japan is developing promising world-class technology. Bridging the technology and European funds paves the way for research of innovative treatments and drugs. I would like to see such technology contribute to improving the quality of life for patients all around the world.”
About Prism BioLab
Launched in 2006 in Japan, Prism BioLab focuses on developing technology for proprietary small molecule drug discovery for undruggable targets. Prism BioLab established a Library designed to mimic α-helix or β-turn peptide using a unique stable scaffold with corresponding dihedral angles. These motifs are essential for protein-protein interactions within the cell, especially related to transcription and translation.
Currently, two clinical-stage programs for cancer and fibrosis have been developed and licensed to Japanese pharmaceutical companies. Many early lead molecules have also been created for novel or previously undruggable targets.
For more information, please visit: http://www.prismbiolab.com/en/about/
About Prism platform technology
The PRISM Library was designed based on Helix structures and has yielded small molecules exhibiting strong activity in modulating critical Intracellular Protein/Protein Interaction. PRISM’s platform technology has developed a clinical-stage program based around targeting the CBP-B catenin complex, as well as other preclinical drug development programs. In addition, PRISM is establishing collaborations with pharmaceutical partners to screen the PRISM library to find small molecule candidates against targets of interest.
About Newton Biocapital
Brussels, Belgium; Alain Parthoens, Managing Partner
Newton Biocapital is a Venture Capital Firm incorporated in Belgium in 2017, focused on financing biotech and life science projects in Europe and Japan for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. The fund’s approach as a lead investor is to support promising research, preclinical and clinical-stage projects, to create value for patients, society and investors. Newton’s portfolio includes a mix of European and Japanese companies, and the leadership team consists of specialists with long-standing management and investor experience who coach bio-entrepreneurs through the development stages of their projects. Newton Biocapital’s mission is to generate substantial financial and societal value by providing innovative and affordable solutions to patients. https://www.newtonbiocapital.com/