Boston-based clinical-stage immunology company Poplar Therapeutics, formerly known as Phylaxis Bioscience, has raised $50 million in a Series A financing round led by SR One, Vida Ventures and Platanus.
In a statement released Wednesday, Poplar Therapeutics said millions of patients with atopic diseases lack effective treatments due to elevated IgE levels, but it is developing a new class of anti-IgE therapies for food allergies and other atopic conditions, using the funding to advance its lead program and provide Phase 1 results later this year.
Founder Tony Yao said in a statement that the company’s lead candidate, PHB-050, reflects two decades of scientific progress in the field.
“Preclinical data suggest PHB-050 can not only bind and block soluble IgE but can also rapidly drive total IgE toward zero. With PHB-050, our goal is to enable the effective treatment of all patients, including those with highly elevated IgE levels who cannot be treated with existing therapies,” Yao said.
