USA- Bluejay Therapeutics has announced the completion of a US$41 million Series B round of financing led by Arkin Bio Ventures.
Other new and existing investors in this round include Synergenics LLC, RiverVest Venture Partners, Yonjin Capital, Octagon Capital, and InnoPinnacle International.
Based in virology and liver disease, Bluejay Therapeutics has two cutting-edge preclinical studies that are targeted at lowering HBsAg loads and improving antiviral immunity in an effort to develop a functional cure for chronic HBV infection (CHBV).
The lead program, BJT-778, a human anti-HBsAg monoclonal antibody, will receive funding from this round to support its clinical development in order to show proof-of-concept in CHBV patients.
Additionally, it will provide funding for the first-in-human clinical trials of BJT-574, an orally bioavailable small molecule HBsAg inhibitor.
Hepatitis B has infected hundreds of millions of people globally, and the World Health Organization estimates that 820,000 people died from the illness in 2019.
Although there is a vaccine to stop the virus from spreading, liver infections are still the most widespread diseases worldwide.
Within the last year, Bluejay has achieved a number of significant milestones including the initiation of the IND-enabling studies for the lead asset BJT-778.
According to the WHO, almost 300 million people have chronic hepatitis B infection, which increases the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Some medications to treat chronic hepatitis B infections have been licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, but they must be used continuously to stop the virus from replicating. Viread and Vemlidy are two popular antivirals made by Gilead Sciences.
Within the last year, Bluejay has achieved a number of significant milestones including the initiation of the IND-enabling studies for the lead asset BJT-778.
In addition, Bluejay strengthened its leadership by recruiting Dr. Nancy Shulman as Chief Medical Officer and further bolstered the clinical team with Carole Ann Moore and Dr. Simon Ducher as the heads of clinical operation and regulatory affairs, respectively.
With the completion of the Series B financing, Bluejay is welcoming Dr. William J. Rutter, the Chairman and CEO of Synergenics LLC, Dr. Alon Lazarus, Investment Manager at Arkin Bio Ventures and Dr. Ting Jia, founder and chief investment officer at Octagon Capital, to its board of directors.
“Bill and Alon’s extensive experience across therapeutic areas will be invaluable to Bluejay at this time of growth for our company. We are very excited to have them on the team,” said Dr. Keting Chu, Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Bluejay Therapeutics.
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