Polaris Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates Lead $35 Million in Series B Funding for Travena

Based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, the leading company in the development and discovery of the G-protein, Travena , announced that it has just secured $35 million in series B funding which was led by Polaris Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates. Existing investors also participated in this funding round and they include Alta Parthers, Healthcare Ventures, and Yasuda Enterprise Development Company

Proceeds from this funding round will go to progress the portfolio of CPCR biased ligands and to complete the second phase of the study of TRV120027 for acute heart failure. The TRV120027 is just one of Travena’s key discoveries concerning the GPCR molecules that can be used to treat acute heart failure.

Travena’s drug discoveries concerning GPCRs is very novel in that it uses what the researchers at Travena call biased ligands to use biological paths of the G proteins to allow only the beneficial benefits of the G-proteins to treat all kinds of diseases, including acute heart failure and avoiding the destructive side affects of conventional drugs. Travena’s drug discoveries are based on years of research in laboratories led by prominent scientists in the GPCR field. Much of the research is done in the laboratories of Drs. Robert J. MD and Howard A. Rockman, MD at the Duke University Medical Center. The primary areas of interest that Travena is developing GPCR based drugs for are in cardiovascular medicine, inflammation, and pain treatments.

The current drug that Travena is developing, TRV120027 is a first-class agent because of its wide variety of biological affects and can offer a major advance in the treatment of acute heart failure. The way that TRV120027 works is that it targets AT1R, which is a key role player in the pathophysiology of heart failure. In a preclinical study, TRV120027 has shown to improve some of the major pathologies in human heart failure. Furthermore, TRV120027 is expected to offer symptomatic benefits while targeting organ function based on its profile in animal studies.

According to the president and CEO of Travena, Dr. Maxine Gowen, PhD; although GPCR drugs have been successful to date, there is a huge scope to enhance the therapeutic properties of GPCR molecules by more targeted signaling. Furthermore, the company is in agreement with its investors in the belief that TRV120027 can be the first GPCR drug to be used in clinical trials in humans and to advance the company’s pain and inflammation programs from the company’s laboratories into the clinic.

Terrence McGuire, cofounder and managing general partner of Polaris Venture Partners stood by the comments of Dr. Gowen and stated that the parters at Polaris are delighted with the progress that Travena has made in this new emerging industry. Furthermore, the ability of the researchers of Travena to translate the research on which the company is founded on into a growing pipeline of different drugs is quite impressive. The data that Travena has gathered about their biased ligands is very compelling and continues to excite all of the team at Polaris Venture Partners.

Polaris Venture Partners is a partnership of venture capitalists and technology executives who look for and invest in promising early stage companies in the IT and life sciences industries. Currently, Polaris Venture Partners has over $3 billion of capital under its management and invests in over 100 companies. Some other companies in Polaris’s portfolio include Acceleron Pharma, Arsenal Medical, Athenix, Avila Therapeutics, Pervasis, and T2 Biosystems.

New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is a prominent vc firm that helps entrepreneurs build powerful companies who use technology to simplify the way we live and work. NEA has roughly $8.5 billion under its management and has acquired over 230 companies. Other companies in NEA’s portfolio include 3V Biosciences, Acorn Cardiovascular, Apnex Medical, BRL, and others.