$95 million in Series C investment was received by Ajax Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical firm located in Cambridge, MA and NYC that is developing JAK inhibitors for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
Investors
- Goldman Sachs Alternatives
- EcoR1 Capital
- Boxer Capital
- Schrödinger, Inc.
- Inning One Ventures
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Vivo Capital
- RA Capital Management
- Point72
Amit Sinha, Head of Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and Ming Cheah, PhD, Vice President, within Life Sciences Investing, joined Ajax’s board of directors concurrently with the funding.
Use of funds
The funds will be utilized by the business to advance its pipeline of medicines for MPNs and to continue developing its first-in-class Type II JAK2 inhibitor, AJ1-11095, for the treatment of myelofibrosis.
In partnership with Schrödinger, Ajax created AJ1-11095, a next-generation JAK2 inhibitor that selectively binds the Type II conformation of the JAK2 kinase and is more effective in modifying disease than all currently approved JAK2 inhibitors that bind the Type I conformation of JAK2. Preclinical research has also demonstrated that AJ1-11095 can cure marrow fibrosis, lessen the load of mutant alleles, and continue to be effective against MPN cells that develop resistance to long-term Type I JAK2 inhibition.
About Ajax Therapeutics
Ajax Therapeutics, under the direction of CEO Martin Vogelbaum, is developing potential next-generation medicines for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including myelofibrosis, by using a selective approach. Ajax aims to find and develop more precisely designed therapies to address the significant unmet needs for patients with MPNs by combining the advanced computational drug discovery and protein structure platforms with the deep structural biology and cancer insights of the company’s founding scientists.
