Elphis Cell Therapeutics Secures $3.4M Series A Funding for Innovative Vascular Disease Treatment
Korean startup, Elphis Cell Therapeutics, which is developing personalized cell therapies for rare vascular diseases, has secured a 4 billion KRW (approximately 3.4 million USD) Series A investment. Investors participating in this round include Daekyo Investment, BSK Investment, PathfinderH, LK Technology Investment, and The Turning Point.
Elphis Cell Therapeutics is working on the development of ‘EL-100,’ a vascular disease treatment utilizing complex stem cells. Vascular diseases, such as severe peripheral arterial disease, stroke, and myocardial infarction, are often caused by vascular damage. Severe peripheral arterial disease, in particular, is a rare condition where 60% of patients die within three years. However, currently, there is no FDA-approved treatment for these conditions. The existing options primarily address symptomatic relief, including vascular bypass surgery, stents, and balloon angioplasty for mild cases.
Several pharmaceutical companies have attempted to develop treatments using mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from the mesodermal germ layer or genetic approaches to regenerate tissue. These approaches, however, have been unable to generate blood vessels or only create capillaries, falling short of a definitive treatment. Furthermore, these therapies often face challenges in clinical trials, especially with regard to inflammation suppression, a crucial clinical endpoint in FDA trials.
Elphis Cell Therapeutics’ ‘EL-100’ is a complex stem cell therapy that combines vascular endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) for regenerating blood vessels and MSC. It has demonstrated the capability to regenerate the artery’s interior lining, surrounding tissues, and nearby structures, thus creating arterial blood vessels. In animal efficacy studies, it successfully regenerated blood vessels, leading to a 100% recovery in blood flow. Additionally, it has shown positive outcomes in GLP safety tests, including toxicity, tumorigenicity, and distribution studies.
The funding from this investment round will support Elphis Cell Therapeutics’ Phase 1 clinical trials. The company completed a Pre-IND meeting with the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) in 2021, following which it is preparing an IND application for the 4th quarter clinical trial in accordance with the KFDA’s recommendations.
Elphis Cell Therapeutics CEO, Im Seong-bin, expressed their success in closing the Series A investment amid a sluggish biotech investment environment. He stated that their mission, as their name ‘Elphis’ signifies (“cells of hope”), is to build a global company that offers hope for the treatment of rare diseases.
[Korean bioHealth Startups News]
- SEOUL BIOHUB Global Center Opens, Aiming to Boost Global BioTech Competitiveness
- Delight Room Invests in Soundable Health for Advanced Sound Analysis in Healthcare
- Apollon Secures 2.3 Billion KRW in Funding for Innovative Needle-Free CGM Technology
- Korean Space Medicine Startup SpaceLiintech Lands 4 Billion KRW Series A Funding
- ArtBlood Secures KRW 6.5 Billion in Series A for Synthetic Blood Production
- GLOUD Raises 3B KRW in Pre-Series A for Global Dental Digital Transformation Expansion
- Protium Science and HK innoN Forge Strategic Investment & Partnership
- LabInCube Raises KRW 5.1B in Series A for MOF Material Development
- Prevenotics Secures Investment for AI-Based Cancer Prevention from 500 Global
- Syntekabio Secures KRW 10B for AI Drug Development from Korea Investment Partners
