Syncona has committed £63.5m in a Series B financing of Resolution Therapeutics, a company focused on unlocking the regenerative potential of macrophage therapy for the treatment of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. Syncona has invested an initial tranche of £22.0m, with investment of the full Series B commitment dependent upon the completion of key milestones.
Alongside this investment, Resolution has appointed Paul Sekhri as chair of Resolution’s board. Syncona says: From a career in life sciences spanning over 35 years, Paul brings a wealth of relevant industry experience to Resolution that will support its future growth, with particular expertise in drug development, business development and delivering successful financing strategies. He is currently president and CEO of vTv Therapeutics and was previously president and CEO of eGenesis and Lycera Corp. Paul has significant senior management, executive and non-executive experience, having worked across biotechnology and large corporate pharmaceutical companies, as well as private equity and venture capital firms.
About Resolution
Launched by Syncona in 2020, Resolution is targeting end-stage liver disease (ESLD), a severe form of liver failure, where a lack of effective therapeutic options means that patients often require liver transplantation and often die as a consequence of the disease. To date, the company has published proof-of-principle data from the academic MATCH II study on the use of macrophage cell therapy in ESLD. Based on the strength of this data, Resolution is now focused on advancing its lead candidate, RTX001, an enhanced, next-generation macrophage cell therapy with first-in-class potential for ESLD.
Use of proceeds from the Series B financing will support the clinical entry and development of RTX001, with a Phase I/II trial expected to start in Q4 CY2024. Following this financing, Resolution is funded to deliver data from this trial, anticipated in CY2026, a key value inflection point with the potential to drive significant NAV growth for Syncona. Proceeds will also be used to develop the company’s manufacturing platform, expand the pre-clinical pipeline, and further strengthen the management team, following several key recent appointments, including Dr Amir Hefni as CEO, Simon Ramsden as CFO and Dr Clifford A. Brass as CMO.
The Series B financing brings the total amount raised by Resolution to £101.4m. Following the drawdown of the full Series B financing, Syncona’s ownership stake in Resolution will be 82.6%. Including the drawdown of the first tranche of investment of £22.0m, Syncona’s holding value of Resolution is now £63.6m. Following the financing, Syncona investment partner Gonzalo Garcia has joined Resolution’s board, joining managing partner Edward Hodgkin
SYNC : Syncona ploughs £63.5m into Resolution Therapeutics
