Many biotech companies are developing therapies that target the tumor microenvironment, the ecosystem around its cancer cells that supports and protects it. Cancer is one of Sonata Therapeutics’ focus areas, but Flagship Pioneer-backed startups aim to address other therapeutic areas and expand their reach into the cellular microenvironment.
flagship launch sonata on Wednesday. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based venture capital firm said the cell’s microenvironment has never been fully described or understood. Sonata is developing small molecule and genetic medicines based on the systematic and comprehensive characterization of the microenvironment in disease states. In addition to cancer, Sonata’s research includes fibrosis and autoimmune diseases.
Sonata represents a combination of two flagship portfolio companies, Cygnal Therapeutics and Inzen Therapeutics, both launched in 2017 within the VC firm’s lab. Cygnal debuts first, raising $65 million in 2019 And details about its approach to developing therapies based on understanding how peripheral nerves communicate with disease cells. Cygnal’s drugs — small molecules and biologics — will work by disrupting the signals that transmit them, then-CEO Pearl Huang said at the company’s launch. The startup’s initial focus was on cancer and inflammation.
Flagship unveiled on Inzen last year. Inzen’s approach to treating disease is based on understanding how cells process and respond to input from dying cells. Cell death can arise from normal cell turnover cycles or from disease. Inzen aims to develop medicines to treat cancer, fibrosis, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
According to Flagship, Sonata’s drug will treat disease by reprogramming the cell’s signaling network. The biotechnology identifies novel drug targets that induce the release of signals that trigger therapeutic activity in the cellular microenvironment.
Sonata is now led by former Inzen CEO Volker Herrmann. Flagship said Huang recently left Cygnal to pursue new opportunities. No funding details were disclosed for the new company, which has six cancer preclinical programs. Fibrosis and autoimmune diseases are exploratory efforts.
“Flagship is focused on groundbreaking breakthroughs in human health, reflected in the pioneering work of Inzen and Cygnal,” Flagship founder and CEO Noubar Afeyan said in a prepared statement. “As the companies grew and the science advanced, their shared vision to reprogram the cellular microenvironment became clear. Sonata has combined the expertise, resources and vision of both companies to create an even stronger entity.”
Flagship has previously used merger playbooks for its portfolio companies. Senda Biosciences, a flagship startup developing drugs based on an understanding of how humans interact with bacteriaInclude The Science of Kintai Therapeuticsthe former flagship company. Repertoire Medicines, a biotechnology-developed therapy based on the study of immune cell-antigen interactionsadopted in 2020 merge Flagship companies Torque Therapeutics and Cogen Immune Medicines.
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