Biotechnology company Elevara Medicines has raised $70 million in Series A financing to advance its Phase II rheumatoid arthritis (RA) trial and pipeline. 

The Series A proceeds, co-led by Forbion and Sofinnova Partners, will support Elevara’s upcoming Phase II clinical trial of its lead candidate ELV001. The investment will also back exploratory programmes in additional chronic inflammatory conditions and women’s health.  

“We have created Elevara together with [founding investor] Monograph Capital because we believe ELV001 could have a fundamental impact on RA patients who fail to achieve disease remission through immune targeted approaches,” said Emma Tinsley, CEO of Elevara Medicines. 

“This $70 million financing provides us with the resources to rapidly advance ELV001 through Phase II and to expand into other chronic inflammatory indications. We are grateful for the support of our investors and are excited to take this molecule forward with Teijin Pharma.” 

ELV001, a first-in-class oral CDK4/6 inhibitor, selectively targets fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), a key driver of RA pathology, without affecting the immune system. Elevara aims to significantly disrupt early line RA treatment by seeking clinical remission in combination with standard of care. 

ELV001 Phase I data demonstrated favourable safety and tolerability, along with encouraging early efficacy signals. The data also supports the potential of ELV001 to act in combination with existing immune agents to achieve full remission. 

“The current standard of care isn’t achieving low disease activity and remission in a large proportion of patients with RA,” said Professor Dominique Baeten, CMO of Elevara.

“By targeting the synovial fibroblast rather than immune cells, ELV001 is uniquely positioned to work with approved immunomodulators for RA in early line therapy.”  

The START-SYNERGY Phase II trial will enrol approximately 180 patients with inadequate response to methotrexate and TNF inhibitors, with recruitment expected to begin before the end of 2025.  

 

Bruno Quinney, Content Team, DDW