New biotech company focuses on COVID-19 treatments

Rajeev Venkayya, who previously headed Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ global vaccine business unit, is leading a new biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of new therapeutics for COVID-19 and its variants, as well as future epidemic and pandemic disease threats. Launched on Tuesday, the company Aerium Therapeutics — whose name is derived from the Latin word for “airborne” — has established operations in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as Lausanne, Switzerland. Its initial focus is on the development of monoclonal antibodies, or mAbs, for COVID-19 and its variants, and is currently working on two mAbs that have shown “potent neutralization” of all COVID-19 variants of concern, including omicron and its subvariants, according to a news release. The company published the preclinical testing data in preprint on bioRxiv. “Because these antibodies show strong activity against all VOCs identified to date, we believe they have the potential to ‘future-proof’ pandemic plans,” Venkayya, CEO at Aerium, said in an emailed response to Devex. “While no one can predict the future evolution of SARS-CoV-2,” he said the preclinical data suggest the antibody combination P2G3/P5C3 “could be a very effective countermeasure against future variants arising from Omicron and/or Delta.” While the company’s focus is currently on mAbs, it will “soon expand its pipeline to antiviral therapeutics,” Venkayya said. There’s currently a huge interest in COVID-19 treatments, particularly those that can easily be administered in low- and middle-income settings. But like vaccines, there are fears that access to currently available therapeutics, particularly antiviral treatments for COVID-19, may spark another inequity crisis. Asked how Aerium will ensure access to its treatments, including mAbs, in LMICs, Venkayya said “Global equity and access is embedded in everything we are doing and part of our founding philosophy.” “We are committed to equitable access at the time of launch of the antibodies under EUA [emergency use authorization] if and when that happens. We will pursue well-established pathways to achieve this, including partnering with manufacturers and strategic partners in LMICs, and funders in the global health arena,” he said. According to the news release, the company received “substantial Series A financing” from Omega Funds, an international venture capital firm that creates and invests in life sciences companies, with participation from F-Prime Capital, a global venture capital firm investing in health care and technology headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Omega Funds provided it with seed funding and incubated it in 2021. Apart from Venkayya, who previously held senior roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and at the White House, the company’s leadership includes Omega Funds Founder Otello Stampacchia as executive chair. The company’s scientific founders are Giuseppe Pantaleo, head of the immunology and allergy division at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, and Didier Trono, head of the laboratory of genetics and virology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Meanwhile, board members include Peter Honig, formerly global regulatory affairs head at Pfizer; John Maraganore, former founding CEO at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; and Stephen Knight, president and managing partner of F-Prime Capital.