Dry age-related macular degeneration has been an elusive disease target for drug developers. Part of the problem is a lack of understanding of the eye disease, which worsens with age, said Cheng Zhang, CEO and co-founder of Character Biosciences. The diseases of aging have been addressed with a one-size-fits-all approach. But genetic insights have shown that in diseases such as dry AMD, the clinical and molecular characteristics of patients vary widely.
“Really, they don’t have the same disease,” Zhang said. “We need to use these differences to identify better biomarkers, better targets.”
Character has been collecting data for the past two years, interrogating them with artificial intelligence, and applying the resulting insights to its drug research. The San Francisco-based biotech now has $18 million in funding to maintain two dry AMD programs into the clinic and continue to build a pipeline of additional treatments.
Character is the new name for Clover Therapeutics, founded in 2019 as The research arm of San Francisco-based Medicare Advantage insurer Clover Health. Clover Therapeutics combines clinical insights gathered by its parent company with other data sources to identify patient subgroups that can guide the development of new treatments. Clover Health has applied such technologies to its clinical care products.
The launch of Clover Therapeutics comes with a large pharma research partnership. In collaboration with Roche’s Genentech division, Clover Therapeutics has delved into the genetic basis of eye disease. The first phase focuses on dry AMD, Zhang said. The disease is more prevalent among Caucasians, while people of African descent are relatively protected. Zhang said the study aimed to identify and understand these differences and how they could inform drug discovery. Results from the Genentech study will be released soon, Zhang said. Character has applied these data to develop its dry AMD therapy.
AMD is a deterioration of the macula, the part of the retina that controls a person’s central vision. The dry form of the disease develops with progressive thinning of the macula. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the back of the eye. Character co-founder and chief scientific officer Marcel van der Brug said a person’s genes predispose a person to dry AMD. But the complexity of the disease means there’s more at work. In some patients, the disease progresses rapidly, while in others it progresses slowly. Character studies the genetic associations of the disease to select targets for its drugs. Those targets remain undisclosed, but van der Brugger said the company’s drug candidate for dry AMD is a protein-based molecule.
“It’s not gene correction,” he said of Character’s drug candidate. “But the way of treatment is that genetics tells you what the pathway is.”
Other data also inform the drug discovery process. Zhang said real-world data can inform the progression of the disease. Character analyzes electronic medical records, claims data, and imaging data to understand differences between patients and find insights related to molecular drivers of disease.
Character is trying to emulate what the field of oncology did decades ago, Van der Brug said. Breast cancer, for example, is now not considered a single disease, but a clinical diagnosis determined by molecular characterization of patient subgroups, he said. Drugs are developed to work in each of these different subgroups. Likewise, Character can develop multiple dry AMD medicines targeting different patient populations. There are other companies taking a similar approach to drug research. Vesalius Therapeutics applies AI to various datasets to discover patterns in people with common disease biologyLaunched in March with $75 million in backing, the Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech is using the insights to guide the development of new drugs for specific patient populations. Vesalius doesn’t specify which diseases it’s designed to treat, other than that they’re common.
Character has shown efficacy of its dry AMD approach in animal testing and is now selecting candidates to advance clinical development. The company’s next indication is glaucoma. But Zhang stressed that Character is not a discerning company. The company’s approach could be applied to other common diseases of aging, he said.
Character did not provide an estimate of when it is expected to arrive at the clinic, but Zhang said the company will need to raise more money to begin human testing. The Series A financing the company announced on Tuesday was led by Innovation Endeavors. Other investors include Section 32 and Catalio Capital Management. The company’s seed investors LifeForce Capital, Casdin Capital, Clover Health, Industry Ventures and Cantos Ventures also participated in the new financing.The funding was raised last winter, according to Clover Health 2022 First Quarter Financial Report. The filing shows that Clover Therapeutics raised $17.9 million in a deal closed on Feb. 4. Following the transaction, Clover Health owns approximately 25% of Clover Therapeutics.
Photographed by Character Bioscience
