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Surrozen to Focus on Ophthalmic Pipeline, Raises up to $175 Million in Private Placement
Author: Jennie Crabbe
Surrozen announced March 24 that it would focus on its ophthalmic pipeline, including the development of new treatment options for retinopathies.
Concurrently, the company said that a private placement of shares would raise up to $175 million in two tranches to fund its candidates through Phase I study.
Surrozen, of South San Francisco, California, is targeting Wnt signal modulation, which plays key roles in the control of development, homeostasis, and regeneration of many essential organs and tissues.
The company says modulation of Wnt signaling has the potential to treat both wet and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy, and non-infectious uveitis, as well as certain rare eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and familial exudative vitreoretinopathy.
Surrozen’s two lead candidates are SZN-8141, which combines Frizzled 4 (Fzd4) agonism and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antagonism; and SZN-8143, which features both of 8141’s mechanisms of action and also incorporates interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonism.
The company said it would discontinue development of SZN-043, its candidate for severe alcohol associated hepatitis.
The first tranche of the financing, with gross proceeds of approximately $70 million, was expected to close on March 26. A second tranche, with potential gross proceeds of approximately $105 million, is contingent on the US FDA giving the go-ahead to an investigational new drug (IND) application for SZN-8141, expected in 2026.
Surrozen is also collaborating with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance SZN-413, a bi-specific antibody targeting retinal vascular disease.
Surrozen’s partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim dates to 2022, when the German health care company received an exclusive, worldwide license to develop SZN-413 and other molecules for all targets, including retina, in exchange for $12.5 million up front and up to $587 million in success-based milestone payments and mid-single-digit to low-double-digit royalties on sales.
