Lilly and Novartis put VC cash into Aeglea's series B

Aeglea Biotherapeutics (Austin, TX), focused on treating inborn errors of metabolism and therapies targeting tumor metabolism, has raised $44m in series B financing led by existing investors Lilly Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund with participation by UT Horizon Fund and new investors, including OrbiMed, Jennison Associates, Venrock, RA Capital Management, Rock Springs Capital, Ally Bridge Group and Cowen Investments. Aeglea's lead candidate, AEB1102 (optimized human Arginase I) is slated to enter Phase I/II later this year as an enzyme replacement therapy in patients with hyperargininemia (HA) caused by Arginase I deficiency. Left untreated, HA may lead to spasticity, loss of ambulation and severe intellectual disability, and there is currently no effective therapy to treat the underlying cause of HA. Aeglea is also planning Phase I development for AEB1102 in oncology, targeting abnormal tumor metabolism characterized by arginine dependence. Aeglea was founded in 2013 with $12m in financing. It has three additional preclinical candidates: AEB4104, which degrades homocystine, for treating homocystinuria; and AEB3103, which degrades cysteine/cysteine and increase oxidative stress through glutathione depletion, and AEB2109, which degrades methionine, both for oncology applications.