Infusion will help the firm enhance its pipeline of resolvins, a family of small molecule lipid mediators.
Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals raised $25 million in a Series B financing. The company will use the money to advance its preclinical resolvin compounds into clinical trials this year.
Resolvins are a family of naturally occurring, small molecule lipid mediators that decrease inflammation. The firm believes that they can be developed to treat a range of diseases including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and multiple eye diseases. In particular, Paul Rubin, M.D., president and CEO, identified two drug candidates, RvE1 and RX-10045, that will benefit from this funding.
QVT Financial LP led the financing round and was joined by Radius Ventures and Biogen Idec New Ventures, all first-time backers of Resolvyx. Existing venture investors Atlas Venture, CHL Medical Partners, and Flagship Ventures were also part of the round. Resolvyx’ previously closed a $17 million Series A financing in December 2005.
“Resolvins clearly provide a novel approach to creating a new class of therapeutics for a range of important and underserved diseases,” according to Keith Manchester, M.D., portfolio manager at QVT Financial. “We believe that resolvin therapeutics have blockbuster potential.”