Former Regenxbio Execs Announce Launch of Gene Therapy Company Tern Therapeutics
Tern Therapeutics announced its official launch alongside the successful closing of a $15 million financing round. Simultaneously, Tern revealed a global licensing agreement with Regenxbio to acquire two gene therapy programs—RGX-381 and RGX-181—now designated as TTX-381 and TTX-181, respectively. These therapies target the ocular and central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of CLN2 disease, a severe form of Batten disease.
The funding will primarily be used to accelerate the ongoing clinical trials of TTX-381, Tern's lead candidate, and to advance the company's broader pipeline. This investment was led by ATW Partners and biotech investor Steve Oliveira, head of Nemean Asset Management.
"We're driven to deliver transformative treatments to patients living with rare diseases and are excited to continue the work we started at Regenxbio," Alex M. Bailey, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Tern Therapeutics, said in a company news release. "No one knows these programs better than the team we’ve assembled at Tern, and we deeply appreciate the confidence and trust that Regenxbio and the patient community have placed in us to lead the next phase of development of these promising investigational therapies."
Dr. Bailey, who was previously Head of Early Program and Portfolio Development at Regenxbio, co-founded Tern alongside Christina Ohnsman, MD, the company's Chief Medical Officer, and Matthew Rosini, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. Dr. Ohnsman, a former Executive Director of Clinical Development at Regenxbio, brings expertise from her tenure on the faculty at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, as well as her strategic consulting work with ophthalmic biopharma and gene therapy companies.
"We founded Tern Therapeutics out of a deep personal commitment to serving patients with high unmet needs," said Dr. Ohnsman. "Children with CLN2 and their families have long been waiting for treatment with gene therapy. This financing will allow us to advance our lead candidate, TTX-381, through the clinic as rapidly as possible."
The newly licensed TTX-381 and TTX-181 therapies are both designed to deliver a working copy of the TPP1 gene, which is deficient in individuals with CLN2 disease. TTX-381 focuses on treating vision loss by delivering the gene directly to the retina, while TTX-181 aims to address neurological degeneration by targeting the CNS. Both therapies have shown promise in early clinical trials.
The first-in-human, open-label, dose-escalation phase 1/2 clinical trial for TTX-381 is currently underway at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. TTX-181 has also seen early clinical use, with a single-patient, investigator-initiated study conducted at the Hospital de Clínicas in Porto Alegre, Brazil.