London biosciences company invests multi-million pound funding to tackle ‘death pathways'

A biosciences firm based in London has announced that its discovery portfolio company has emerged from stealth mode following a round of series A financing.

Arix Biosciences, which invests in biotechnology companies, teamed up with Atlas Venture to first seed Quench Bio in 2018.

Quench, which has been in stealth mode since its creation, now has committed funding of $50m with series A financing, which came from partially from Arix.

The company plans to focus on inhibiting the protein Gasdermin D, which has recently been discovered as a key target at the core of multiple inflammatory cell death pathways.

Jonathan Tobin, investment director at Arix and board director of Quench Bio, said: “We are excited and privileged to work alongside such a distinguished team of entrepreneurs and co-investors to develop first-in-class medicines that could make a major difference to patients suffering from chronic inflammatory and auto-immune diseases.

“The genesis of Quench originated from our long-standing relationship with the Lead Discovery Center in Germany and its close connections with the Max Planck Society.

“It exemplifies the advantage of Arix’s transatlantic approach, combining the best of European and US science and talent.”

Samantha Truex, CEO of Quench Bio, commented: “The successful financing underscores the potential of our innovative approach.

“We are delighted by the strong support from Arix as well as our existing and new investors and I look forward to leveraging their extensive experience as we develop multiple programs to target severe inflammatory diseases.”