Mozart Therapeutics, a startup focused on developing disease-modifying therapies for autoimmune diseases, recently announced the closure of their $25M expanded Series A financing, bringing the total raise to $80M. The company, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is targeting a novel regulatory CD8 T-cell network to discover and develop therapies that restore immune balance across a spectrum of autoimmune diseases.
As UPMC Enterprises’ first investment in the autoimmune space, Mozart represents an exciting opportunity with a novel, differentiated therapeutic approach and strong potential for synergies with UPMC clinical expertise.
Mozart is developing a portfolio of CD8 Treg Modulators, including MTX-101, a bispecific immune checkpoint inhibitor. MTX-101, the company’s lead program, targets autoimmune mediated gastro-intestinal diseases where significant unmet needs for improved therapies continue to exist. The capital raised in the Series A will help support the advancement of Mozart’s lead candidate into the clinic while also funding expansion of their pipeline.
New Mozart investors, UPMC Enterprises, Pfizer Ventures, AbbVie Ventures, and Ono Venture Investment, join an impressive syndicate of existing investors including ARCH Venture Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Eli Lilly & Company, MRL Ventures Fund, LEAPS by Bayer, Altitude Life Science Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments.
“UPMC Enterprises has spent significant time and effort to find novel, transformational treatment options for patients challenged by autoimmune diseases. The approach Mozart Therapeutics is taking, triggering CD8-positive regulatory T-cells (Tregs) to suppress autoimmune and inflammatory disease processes, is novel and unique. It has the potential to profoundly and sustainably modulate disease-driving immune pathways in autoimmune disease, without the risk of suppressing the immune system more broadly, which is a common problem with existing therapies and other emerging technologies. With a world-class team and a syndicate to match Mozart is well-positioned to drive this work to clinical success,” said Matthias Kleinz, Executive Vice President of Translational Sciences at UPMC Enterprises.
To learn more about Mozart’s fundraising announcement, read the full press release here.
