Axial: https://linktr.ee/axialxyz
Axial partners with great founders and inventors. We invest in early-stage life sciences companies such as Appia Bio, Seranova Bio, Delix Therapeutics, Simcha Therapeutics, among others often when they are no more than an idea. We are fanatical about helping the rare inventor who is compelled to build their own enduring business. If you or someone you know has a great idea or company in life sciences, Axial would be excited to get to know you and possibly invest in your vision and company . We are excited to be in business with you - email us at info@axialvc.com
Acceleron was acquired by Merck for $11.5B in 2021. Initially working on bone loss & anemia, Acceleron’s key decision was to focus on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with sotatercept. Generating exciting enough late-stage clinical data to compel Merck to buy them.
Founded in 2003, Acceleron started trials in 2006, built partnerships with Celgene, & went public in 2013. The company was centered around protein therapeutics to target the TGF-β superfamily of ligands/receptors. Their initial pipeline focused on cancer and blood disorders.
This work ultimately led to the approval of Reblozyl in 2020 for anemia, alongside Celgene/BMS. The key inflection point was developing sotatercept (ligand trap to rebalance BMPR2 signaling) for PAH, a rare disease leading to heart failure https://www.merck.com/news/merck-to-acquire-acceleron-pharma-inc/
Existing medicines promote dilation while sotatercept tries to reverse muscularization. With Merck reporting phase 3 data (N=323) in March 2023, reducing risk of death by ~84% compared to placebo https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2213558