Trill Impact leads a 240 MSEK venture financing round in Cinclus Pharma AB, a Swedish late-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to improving the medical outcome for patients suffering from severe stomach acid-related disorders. Cinclus Pharma’s lead candidate, linaprazan glurate, is a P-CAB (potassium-competitive acid blocker) and represents a new class of anti-secretory medicines targeting patients unresponsive to existing treatment options.
Linaprazan glurate holds the potential to decrease the unnecessary use of antibiotics, thereby reducing the development of antimicrobial resistance. Trill Impact will work with Cinclus Pharma to support ongoing clinical development, as well as to accelerate market access in select low- and middle-income countries.
Proceeds from the venture financing round will advance the clinical development of Cinclus Pharma’s lead program through two Phase III clinical trials, for GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) and H. pylori infection. Nina Rawal, Trill Impact Partner advising on venture transactions, will join Cinclus Pharma’s board of directors.
Commenting on the transaction, Nina Rawal said,
"We see this as a great example of a company where commercial opportunity and impact go hand in hand. Trill Impact is excited to collaborate with the Cinclus team and its strong shareholder base, including AP4 and Linc, to help bring this product to patients worldwide.”
Christer Ahlberg, the CEO of Cinclus, said,
“Our long-term goal is to reach a market leading position for our P-CAB linaprazan glurate. The proceeds will help accelerate our road to approval and commercialization. We are thankful for the support from current and new shareholders, and excited to further strengthen our investor base.”
GERD: Billions of people around the world suffer from GERD and an estimated 40% of the patients are non-responsive to current treatment options based on the Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) class of drugs. Symptoms of severe GERD include wounds and scarring of the esophagus which can lead to complications such as difficulty in swallowing and cancer.
H. pylori infection: H. pylori is a bacterial pathogen that continues to be a major health problem worldwide and the burden of disease falls disproportionately on less well-resourced populations. The World Health Organization has listed H. pyloriamong the sixteen antibiotic-resistant bacteria posing the greatest threat to human health. P-CABs have demonstrated superior gastric acid suppression over PPIs resulting in increased antibiotics stability, thereby reducing the required antibiotics dose used in H. pylori eradication efforts.
