Dive Brief:
- NGM Biopharmaceuticals, which was taken private earlier this year, has raised $122 million from venture investors to advance its recently revamped drug development plans.
- The Series A round, which NGM disclosed Wednesday, will fund a registrational trial for the company’s drug aldafermin in primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC, and a Phase 2 study for another candidate called NGM120 in hyperemesis gravidarum, a rare condition of pregnancy that leads to frequent vomiting.
- The funding is NGM’s first since transitioning from public markets to become a private company in April. Announced in February, the take-private deal involved affiliates of The Column Group, NGM’s largest shareholder and the lead investor of Wednesday’s Series A.
Dive Insight:
Since NGM’s founding in 2007, the company’s research has covered a range of therapeutic areas. Its progress led to an initial public offering in 2019, which was initially followed by a run-up in the company’s stock price.
But clinical setbacks hurt the company. Aldafermin, which NGM had advanced as a treatment for MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, failed a mid-stage trial in 2021. A drug candidate for vision loss fell short in another study one year later.
NGM laid off staff in April 2023 as it worked to save money but, by the end of 2023, shares traded at less than $1 apiece.
In the sale this year, The Column Group affiliates paid $1.55 of each outstanding NGM share the investor and certain other stockholders didn’t already own.
“[Private] is a better place to be,” David Woodhouse, the CEO of NGM, said in an interview. “I think what the Series A proves is we have access to capital as a private company that is aligned with our programs that we're taking forward.”
NGM’s pipeline is now focused on aldafermin for PSC and NGM120 for hyperemesis gravidarum, although the company is still pursuing some oncology research.
“We looked at that [previous] collection of assets and said, ‘Where's our biggest bang for the buck? Where are we going to get the most value for our resources?” Woodhouse said. “We came down to aldafermin in PSC and NGM120 in HG. Each has some really compelling aspects that we think really deserve to be funded.”
Inflammation related to PSC damages the bile ducts, which can eventually lead to liver failure and bile duct cancer. Aldafermin is an analog of a hormone that’s thought to play a role in regulating bile acid levels.
Hyperemesis gravidarum, meanwhile, is a severe type of nausea occurring during pregnancy that differs from morning sickness. The condition can cause dehydration and malnutrition, as well as more serious consequences like preeclampsia and preterm birth. NGM120 blocks signaling of a protein called GDF15 in cells near the brain that trigger vomiting, according to the company.
Neither conditions have approved therapies in the U.S. NGM plans to start both the registrational and Phase 2 studies in the fourth quarter this year.