Boulder-based Edgewise Therapeutics raises $50M in Series B round

BOULDER  — Edgewise Therapeutics Inc. closed a $50 million Series B fundraising round for its research into musculoskeletal diseases.

According to a press release, Edgewise said the funding will be used to prepare its main drug candidate, a treatment for two forms of muscular dystrophy, for clinical trials. The company is seeking Investigational New Drug status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The round was led by Danish venture firm Novo Holdings A/S and California-based U.S. Venture Partners LP.

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Edgewise, which is affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute, is developing therapies for muscular disorders. CEO Kevin Koch told BizWest the company is investigating a way to replace the effect of dystrophin, a protein that if missing causes patients to progressively lose muscle strength. If that works, the downstream symptoms of muscular dystrophy such as loss of movement and breathing issues could be stopped before they take effect.

“This is the very top end of the biologic tree, so to speak,” he said. “If we block the damage to the muscle… and protect the muscle so that the damage never occurs.”

He said preclinical models of the drug show an increase in grip strength, which could make it a candidate for accelerated approval by the FDA.

Koch said the company hopes to have its flagship therapy in clinical trials in the second half of 2020, and to see its broader adult neuromuscular disorder treatment to begin trials by the first half of 2021.

The company has yet to file a fundraising disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Koch said the company’s Series A round was $15.5 million and led by one investor.