BioWorld International Correspondent

Arexis AB, a Swedish drug discovery firm focused on metabolic disease and inflammation, raised SEK63 million (US$7.9 million) in a second financing round led by Industrifonden (the Swedish Industrial Development Fund), of Stockholm.

Existing investors 3i plc, of London; SEB Foeretagsinvest, of Stockholm; and InnovationsKapital, of Gothenburg, also participated in the transaction, which brings the company's total equity funding to SEK111 million.

"This money will take us through this and next year," Arexis co-founder and Chief Business Officer Vidar Wendel-Hansen told BioWorld International. The Gothenburg-based company plans to use the cash to advance four preclinical programs, in inflammation, diabetes, vaccines and clinical nutrition.

The company, which was founded in 1999, employs a "forward genetics" approach in identifying novel disease-associated genes. It involves the use of more than a decade's worth of animal breeding experiments to pinpoint chromosomal regions, individual genes and gene variants that play a role in the pathogenesis of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and Type II diabetes. Its scientific founders include Rikard Holmdahl, of the University of Lund; Holger Luthman, of the Karolinksa Institute in Stockholm; and Leif Andersson, of the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala.

The inflammation program is based around finding modulators of the stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme, which is elevated in patients with skin conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

"We have chemistry in the skin inflammation program, so we are currently in lead optimization work there," Wendel-Hansen said. The company aims to develop skin-care applications as well as pharmaceuticals based on the target, which plays a role in skin barrier function.

The diabetes program is based on an enzyme called adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, which is involved in insulin-independent metabolism of glucose in skeletal muscle. Andersson and co-workers identified the association in a Science paper published in 2000. "It could be a really new concept in terms of diabetes therapy," Wendel-Hansen said.

The vaccines program is based on the use of a genetically modified subunit of a toxin as an adjuvant to boost the immune response. "This is currently in a number of pilot evaluation studies with a number of companies," Wendel-Hansen said.

The company has not disclosed details of its clinical nutrition program, which is the subject of an alliance with an unidentified partner.