Biopharma launches to bring new medicines for fibrotic diseases

A biopharmaceutical company has launched to bring new treatments to treat patients with a wide range of fibrotic diseases.

Tribune Therapeutics has launched with seed funding led by HealthCap and NovoHoldings – co-creators of the company. The company is building a pipeline of medicines targeting fibrotic diseases and is focused on exploiting exploit a novel, pan-antifibrotic mechanism across a wide range of indications.

Fibrosis is a pathogenic process that results in deposition of scar tissue and it typically occurs when tissues are subjected to chronic inflammation or injuries too large for the body to spontaneously recover from. Fibrosis can occur in many tissues within the body and result in disease in multiple organs including in the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.

Tribune Therapeutics was founded in 2020 and has recently in-licensed an asset from Inven2, a technology transfer office in the Nordic region.

Based on research from Håvard Attramadal’s lab at Oslo University Hospital, Tribune is developing a novel drug with a pan-antifibrotic mechanism of action targeting several fibrotic indications including diseases affecting the kidney, lung and liver.

Jonas Hansson, partner with HealthCap and executive chairman of Tribune, said: “Tribune emerges as the result of years of academic research and is now setting out to develop novel pharmaceuticals to treat life-threatening fibrotic diseases. Combining a strong scientific foundation and a large unmet medical need with a Nordic footprint is a great match with Novo Seeds and HealthCap. Together, we are excited to support this important work.”

João Ribas, senior associate at Novo Seeds, added: “As part of our mission to support entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions to improve treatment options for patients, we are delighted to be working with HealthCap to fund and fully support Tribune Therapeutics. This financing not only exemplifies Novo Seeds’ commitment as a key biotech company builder in the Nordic region, but also demonstrates our ability to synergistically collaborate with academic experts and like-minded investors to bring the latest scientific breakthroughs into promising, disruptive companies.”

Ole Kristian Hjelstuen, chief executive officer of Inven2, stated: “Inven2´s core mandate is to commercialise inventions on behalf of the strong academic milieus we represent. We are very proud to see that cutting-edge academic research from Håvard Attramadal ´s lab has laid the foundation for Tribune Therapeutics. The financial support, expertise, and commitment from both Novo Holdings and HealthCap, two of the leading life science financial institutions in Europe, gives the company fair chances to succeed in bringing new treatments to patients. We look forward to following the route from the lab to patients with high unmet medical needs.”