Novartis Leads $36M Investment In Sorbent Therapeutics
June 30, 2011 - Dow Jones VentureWire Lifescience
by Brian Gormley
Sorbent Therapeutics Inc. said it has raised $36 million to advance a drug that could help physicians better-manage heart-failure patients who also have another common problem: kidney disease.
New investor Novartis Venture Funds led the round, a Series B-2, which brings Sorbent's total backing to $67.1 million and its valuation to the $70 million range, said Chief Executive Detlef Albrecht. Previous investors AgeChem, ARCH Venture Partners, CMEA Capital and Sofinnova Ventures also participated in the round, which closed on June 14. Sorbent, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., raised a $16.8 million Series B-1 round last year. One previous backer, the venture arm of Dow Chemical Co., didn't participate in the Series B-2 for internal reasons, according to Albrecht. A Dow Chemical spokesman wasn't available for comment Wednesday. Sorbent's drug could help solve a dilemma for physicians treating patients who have heart failure and kidney disease, which are often seen together. Drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, such as aldosterone inhibitors, have been shown to help heart-failure patients. But in heart-failure patients who also have kidney disease, adding aldosterone inhibitors increases the risk of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia. As a result, doctors may use less-than-optimal doses of aldosterone inhibitors or discontinue their use altogether, Albrecht said. Sorbent's lead drug, CLP1001, is a polymer that removes potassium, sodium and fluids. Adding it to the existing treatment regimen could reduce the risk of hyperkalemia in patients taking renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system blockers, according to the company. The added benefit of lowering sodium and fluid levels is especially important for heart-failure patients, Albrecht said. By enabling the use of the recommended doses of aldosterone inhibitors, the Sorbent drug has potential to help head off problems that force these patients to make trips to the emergency room, said Markus Goebel, a managing director of Novartis Venture Funds who has joined the Sorbent board. This would improve patients' lives and save money in the health-care system, he said. The new financing gives Sorbent two and a half years of funding and will enable it to complete Phase II studies of its lead drug. Sorbent expects data from a Phase IIa study in early 2012 and to launch a Phase IIb trial later that year. Data from that trial will be available in 2013, he said. Sorbent's competitors include venture-backed Relypsa Inc., which has just launched a Phase IIb study of a non-absorbed polymer drug, RLY5016. The study will test the drug's ability to treat hyperkalemia in patients with moderate to severe kidney impairment who are being treated with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system inhibitors, including angiotensin-receptor blockers. Relypsa raised a $70 million Series B financing last year that is designed to carry the Santa Clara, Calif., company through Phase III trials, said Jim Johnson, its chief financial officer. Investors include 5AM Ventures, Amgen Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Mediphase Venture Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners and OrbiMed Advisors. http://www.sorbent.com