Forbion leads Series A, with participation from founding seed investor OrbiMed and additional new investors RA Capital Management and HealthCap
LA JOLLA, CALIF. – October 24, 2023 – Rampart Bioscience, Inc., a biotechnology company developing next-generation biologics, today announced an $85 million Series A financing to create medicines that aim to unburden patients from disease and their treatments. The new financing builds on an initial $40 million seed investment from OrbiMed. Rampart’s proprietary DNA-based medicines platform, called HALO, was inspired and developed using cues from nature to overcome the key limitations and safety concerns of viral and early non-viral gene approaches.
“There remains a significant gap to bridge technological progress with patient benefit. The Rampart team has tremendous heart and a fierce commitment to reshaping the treatment landscape for those in dire need of better options,” said Louis Breton, Rampart Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Director. “Our vision is to liberate patients and their families from the hardships of their disease by creating efficacious medicines that are within their reach and at costs that don’t break the system.”
Rampart’s proprietary HALO platform is designed to produce highly potent, durable, and redosable therapies. The company’s lead program is for the treatment of hypophosphatasia (HPP), a rare, often fatal genetic disease that prevents bone mineralization. Rampart has additional programs in development.
“Rampart’s DNA medicines contain novel structural elements that drive nuclear trafficking and retention while avoiding immune responses,” said Jeffrey Bartlett, Ph.D., Rampart Co-founder and Chief Innovation and Technical Officer. “We believe this discovery holds the key to overcoming the significant potency and durability challenges still facing predecessor approaches that are capable of reaching certain therapeutic cell types but are not eliciting robust or durable therapeutic effect.”
“We are proud to have supported Rampart since inception. The team’s relentlessness in their pursuit of better options for patients is as big a differentiator as their technology,” said David Bonita, M.D., General Partner at OrbiMed and Co-founder and Chairman of Rampart. “Drug development that translates into transformative treatment options that improve outcomes for patients and their families is full of twists and turns, and Rampart has the steadfast leaders and multidisciplinary innovators needed to complete the journey.”
“Rampart has assembled an impressive team with a shared patients-first mindset to embark on an ambitious mission that has the potential to transform the genetic medicine space,” said Dmitrij Hristodorov, Ph.D., Partner at Forbion. “We’re excited to stand with the company as it further develops its platform and advances innovative therapeutic candidates toward the clinic.”
Rampart’s executive management team collectively has over seven decades of biotechnology experience, including significant focus on the development of gene and cell-based therapies. Mr. Breton and Dr. Bartlett previously worked together at gene and cell therapy company Calimmune, which Mr. Breton co-founded and which was acquired by CSL Behring in 2017. Rampart’s team of founders also includes Robert Heft, Ph.D., who led the development of the only approved therapy for HPP as CEO of Enobia, which was also backed by OrbiMed and which was acquired by Alexion in 2012. Dr. Bonita previously served on the board of Enobia.
In addition to Mr. Breton, Dr. Bonita, and Dr. Heft, Rampart’s Board of Directors also includes Evan Caplan, M.D., Principal at original investor OrbiMed. In conjunction with the Series A financing, Dmitrij Hristodorov, Ph.D., Partner at Forbion; Matthew Hammond, Ph.D., MBA, Principal at RA Capital; and Carl Kilander, M.D., Ph.D., Partner at HealthCap have joined the Board.
ABOUT RAMPART BIOSCIENCE
Rampart Bioscience is pioneering new ways to liberate patients and families from the burden of serious and debilitating disease. Rampart’s multidisciplinary team is developing novel DNA-based medicines offering the potency and durability to bring transformative and lasting clinical benefits. The company is initially focused on genetic diseases affecting the liver and its first program is designed to treat hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic disease. Rampart is based in La Jolla, California. For more information, please visit https://rampartbio.com and follow Rampart on LinkedIn.
MEDIA CONTACT
Chris Railey
Ten Bridge Communications
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