Recursion Pharmaceuticals took a strategic approach by removing a rare illness medication from their portfolio and raking in $150 million as a private placement.
As per the filing of the SEC, the company has stopped working on its medication (REC-3599) which, according to the company, could cure the rare genetic condition known as GM2 gangliosidosis. The testing and trial phase 2 were supposed to begin in a few months but the company delayed the trial for two years leading to the suspension of patient enrolment, scheduled to begin early this year.
Recursion is a biotechnology pharmaceutical company that advances in data science and chemistry through pharmaceutical innovation. The main aim of the company is to improve drug development with the help of unique sets of data. The company claims its experience and expertise is its greatest strength.
The company is based in Utah but is spread across multiple locations such as Montreal and Toronto.
Before giving the treatment’s out-licensing to Chromaderm in 2015, Eli Lilly had undertaken a phase 3 trial of the medication, also known as ruboxistaurin, for diabetic retinopathy over 20 years earlier. Ruboxistaurin is being developed as a treatment for skin hyperpigmentation diseases by Chromaderm, which was later bought by DermBiont. In 2019, Recursion purchased the rights to the asset’s non-topical formulations from Dermboint.
Recursion is now discontinuing the therapy, noting the development of the business’ cancer pipeline. According to the document, the biotech would focus its efforts on initiatives with major unmet medical needs that “the company believes a better possibility of getting to patients in the near future.”
One of their first set of initiatives was the REC-4881 which would cure ovarian and hepatocellular carcinoma and AXIN1/APC tumors. There are 4 other projects in the pipeline with phase 2 oncology in progress. The digital biology company also has a molecular mining collaboration with Roche’s Genentech division that permits up to 40 separate projects to be distributed between the two pharmaceutical companies in the fields of cancer and neurology over the following ten years.
Kinnevik will make an investment of $150 million. Kinnevik is a Swedish investment company that invests in growing digital businesses that have the potential to advance in the future. The company released a statement of its investment in this venture. As of October, the cash reserves and assets of the company are estimated to be over $450 million. The company will utilize this amount by investing in several programs, strategic planning, and other general expenses of the company.
Christopher Gibson, co-founder, and chief executive officer of Recursion, said:
“This investment shows conviction in our approach as a leader within technology-enabled drug discovery across our pipeline, partnerships, and massive relatable datasets which ultimately enables us to create a more efficient path to new and better medicines.”
