The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Co-Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received a second tranche of its running seed financing in total of € 3 Mn from Dutch, German and Canadian investors, after lead compound ATR-002 (Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitor against Influenza) has passed an important preclinical milestone paving the way to clinical development stage.

Atriva Therapeutics stands for the next generation of antiviral therapies. MEK Inhibitors have a high potential as truly efficacious and safe antiviral drugs to address the urgent need for a novel, broadly active Influenza therapy.

Atriva’s product platform draws from re-purposed optimized MEK kinase inhibitors and focuses on acute viral infections like Influenza, Hanta or RSV. Replication of many RNA-viruses in humans depend on a particular cellular signaling pathway. Atriva scientists found in pre-clinical studies that the pathway can be effectively blocked by MEK-inhibitors, which impairs virus replication.

The lead product candidate ATR-002 targets the indication Influenza in high-risk patients and follows a fast-track development plan. Led by CSO Prof. Oliver Planz, the development has now passed an important preclinical milestone by identifying an optimized formulation approach and confirming the drug as candidate. The current financing will enable the company to enter clinical development by the first half of 2018 and reaching clinical PoC in late 2019.

Dr. Rainer Lichtenberger, co-founder and CEO of Atriva, says: “We are very pleased by the continuing strong support of our investors led by the Stichting Participatie Atriva which includes industry-experienced serial entrepreneurs, so sharing our excitement with the antiviral performance of our lead compound ATR-002. Especially we are pleased that with InSynchrony Ventures (Montreal, Canada), we could attract a new competent life science investor from North America. The funds raised will enable us to advance the lead compound to the clinical stage. This underpins the innovative approach of our platform to offer medications for better control of influenza infections in high-risk patients, including the severe respiratory complications caused by bacterial co-infections."

The huge therapeutic market potential for acute Influenza in high-risk, co-morbid patients is estimated to exceed 12 million patients per year (US, EU, JP). The only available medications, neuraminidase inhibitors, are not approved for these patient groups due to their lack of efficacy, and no suitable therapy is currently available. Without taking the preventive pandemic stock-piling of Influenza therapeutics into account, the addressable global market potential of Atriva’s MEK inhibitors could exceed 2.8 billion Euros in 2020.

Paul Lelieveld, Director of Stichting Participatie Atriva (Foundation Participation Atriva) comments: “The excellent science combined with strong therapeutics development skills of the Atriva-team convinced the Stichting Participatie Atriva and her shareholders again that our investment in Atriva has a high chance for an outstanding return in the development of these next generation anti-viral therapies. Investors interested in the Foundation Participatie Atriva can always contact us, to be a part of it.” Dr. Dean Wenham, CEO of InSynchrony Ventures adds: “Atriva’s breakthrough in establishing a new therapeutic role for a well-established target such as MEK demonstrates the strength of the Atriva team and offers potentially a new therapeutic paradigm for the treatment of diseases such as acute influenza in high-risk, co-morbid patients. InSynchrony Ventures is very proud to participate in this current investment round since our key mandate as investors is to help novel early staged assets in areas of unmet medical need reach clinical proof of concept”.

Dr. Frank Hensel, Senior Investment Manager with HTGF complements: “Atriva´s discovery team has identified a new universal mode-of-action with the possibility of broadening the application to a wide range of viral infections like Zika, Hanta or RSV. This is of particular importance in the case of the rapidly spreading viral diseases. With the second tranche of seed investment, Atriva continues to advance the development of the active substance to clinical development stage.”