SOMERVILLE, Mass.—Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc., a clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company, announced today the completion of a $53 million Series C financing round. The capital comes from new investors, including OCV Partners, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Symbiosis LLC and the Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, as well as existing investors, including Avenir Growth Capital, Morgan Noble, Shumway Capital and Willett Advisors.
Finch will use the Series C proceeds to advance its pipeline of novel microbial therapies, including CP101, a Full-Spectrum Microbiota (FSM) therapy delivered in an oral capsule that is designed to contain a diverse community of microbiota and restore balance to the microbiome.
“We are thrilled that this additional funding, coupled with the recent Breakthrough Therapy designation we received from the FDA, will enable us to accelerate our efforts to provide a new therapy to patients battling recurrent C. difficile,” said Mark Smith, CEO of Finch. “We also look forward to advancing our investigational therapies for ASD, IBD and other conditions linked to a disrupted microbiome.”
CP101 is currently being evaluated for the prevention of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) in Finch’s PRISM3 trial, a potentially pivotal clinical study. Compelling results from the PRISM3 trial may be sufficient to support FDA approval, based on recent communications with the agency.
The Series C proceeds will also enable Finch to accelerate the development of its FSM therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by behavioral symptoms, which are often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms. Studies suggest that GI and behavioral symptoms may be linked to a disrupted microbiome.
Finch is supporting an actively enrolling, investigator-initiated, Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of its FSM therapy in adults with ASD. Finch also received a Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its pediatric ASD program back in April.
Beyond CDI and ASD, Finch is continuing to expand its pipeline of microbiome-based therapeutics, including a preclinical Rationally-Selected Microbiota (RSM) program in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in partnership with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Finch’s RSM platform employs machine-learning to mine Finch’s unique clinical datasets, reverse engineering successful clinical experience to identify the key microbes driving patient outcomes.
The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Finch’s CP101 for the treatment of patients with recurrent C.difficile infection back in February.
“We are thrilled that CP101 has been designated as a Breakthrough Therapy for recurrent C. difficile,” Smith noted at the time. “CP101 is designed to break the cycles of infection by restoring the balance of the gut microbiome, an approach supported by numerous clinical studies and Finch’s extensive experience providing microbial treatments to patients suffering from C. difficile. This designation will accelerate our efforts to provide an effective therapy for patients living with this devastating infection, and we look forward to working closely with the FDA to advance that mission.”
