Enyo Pharma S.A. (Lyon, France) raised €40 million ($46.8 million) in a series B round led by OrbiMed Advisors. New investors Andera Partners (formerly Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners) and Bpifrance Large Venture also participated, as did Sofinnova Partners, Morningside Venture Investments, InnoBio and Inserm Transfert Initiative.
By year end, the company hopes to begin two Phase II trials of lead candidate EYP001 to treat chronic HBV infection and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The therapy, a small molecule agonist of farnesoid X receptor (FXR; NR1H4), is in a Phase Ib trial to treat HBV.
According to BioCentury’s BCIQ database, the most advanced FXR agonist to treat NASH is Ocaliva obeticholic acid from Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT). That oral therapy is in a Phase III study. Enyo said EYP001 "appears to differentiate from other FXR agonists" by showing a better balance of 7-alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) and fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), "with a more prolonged C4 decrease and a lower peak of FGF19."
OrbiMed's Iain Dukes will join Enyo's board.
Enyo raised €22 million ($23.9 million) in a 2016 series A round.