Novo Holdings Joins €23M Series A for Tribune Therapeutics to Advance Anti-Fibrotic Therapies

Novo Holdings announced its participation in a €23 million Series A round for Tribune Therapeutics (‘Tribune’). The round was led by new investor LifeArc Ventures and joined by Novo Holdings, HealthCap, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund and Inven2 as well as new Series A investors Industrifonden and Investinor.

Tribune Therapeutics was co-founded in 2020 by the Seed Investments team of Novo Holdings and HealthCap Ventures to create broadly applicable disease-modifying therapies for fibrotic diseases by targeting downstream, tissue-agnostic gatekeepers of scar formation and tissue remodelling.

Through a Pioneer Innovator Grant, the Novo Nordisk Foundation – whose assets Novo Holdings manages – partially funded scientific discoveries at the Oslo University Hospital by Professor Håvard Attramadal and Ole J. Kaasbøll that led to Tribune’s formation. The Pioneer Innovator grant programme is designed to advance science-based discoveries in sustainability and health by funding experiments and activities that push ideas toward proof-of-concept and beyond, in line with Novo Nordisk Foundation’s vision of improving people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet.

Tribune’s lead programme, TRX-44, is currently in development for the treatment of fibrotic conditions including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). TRX-44 prevents scar formation by mimicking the structure and function of CCN5. CCN5 is an endogenous protein that naturally blocks the pro-fibrotic effects of other CCN family members, including CTGF/CCN2 and WISP1/CCN4, on multiple cell types contributing to fibrotic pathology.

João Ribas, PhD, Principal of Novo Holdings, said: “Tribune’s scientific founders have discovered key insights into the mechanism of action of CCNs, leading to an elegant and powerful approach to harness the biology of CCNs to shut down a key pro-fibrotic pathway. The novel path being advanced by Tribune holds potential for meaningfully impacting the treatment of multiple devastating and often terminal fibrotic indications.”

Georg Vo Beiske, PharmD, Tribune Chief Executive Officer and HealthCap Venture Partner, said: “Tribune’s foundational science has far-reaching therapeutic potential, and Novo Holdings has been a great partner in bringing the company to fruition through its early support and extended network. As we advance toward the clinic, having the backing of such a strong investor group increases our confidence in our innovative approach to treat fibrotic diseases.”