Hinge Bio Secures $30M Series A to Advance GEM-DIMER Therapies

Hinge Bio, Inc., a biotechnology firm based in Burlingame, California, has successfully concluded a Series A financing round. The investment was primarily led by Point72 and saw participation from Ridgeback Capital, InVivium Capital, and Lightswitch Capital, among others. The funds are earmarked for advancing the company's lead product candidate, HB2198, into a Phase 1 clinical trial targeted at patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus) and for further development of innovative therapies through Hinge Bio's GEM-DIMER™ platform.

Barry Selick, Ph.D., the CEO of Hinge Bio, expressed the company's dedication to crafting transformative medicines for patients with challenging diseases. The newly acquired funds will facilitate early clinical tests to establish the safety and efficacy of HB2198 in Lupus patients and explore other therapeutic constructs that appeal to both patients and pharmaceutical partners.

Hinge Bio's flagship candidate, HB2198, is expected to progress into clinical trials in 2025. The candidate aims to address B cell-mediated autoimmune disorders through dual targeting of CD19 and CD20, enhancing natural killer cell activity. Pre-clinical studies have shown that HB2198 achieves more profound and quicker B cell depletion than other antibody-based therapies. The objective is to reset the immune system with rapid and extensive B cell depletion in both peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues, offering the advantages of an easily accessible, cost-effective, and safe off-the-shelf antibody therapeutic.

Alex Silverstein, Portfolio Manager at Point72, praised the broad potential of Hinge Bio's GEM-DIMER technology across various therapeutic areas. He remarked that HB2198 is an early indication of the platform's promise, highlighting the team's capability to improve existing care standards while exploring novel pathways. Silverstein also suggested that HB2198 could become a leading therapeutic in its class across multiple indications, making it a versatile option for healthcare providers ranging from academic institutions to community clinics.

Dr. Wayne Holman, Founder and CEO of Ridgeback Capital, also commended Hinge Bio's platform for developing top-tier medicines targeting known and new biological targets. He described the lead program as a B-cell depleting treatment that could rival CD19 CAR-T therapies in efficacy for autoimmune diseases, with the added safety and tolerability of a monoclonal antibody. He emphasized that such an approach could offer significant benefits and potentially reset the immune system across various autoimmune diseases with minimally invasive treatments, potentially outpacing competitors like CAR-T and T-cell engagers in B cell depletion.

Hinge Bio is a privately held biotechnology company focusing on the design and development of therapeutics using its proprietary GEM-DIMER™ platform. This technology enables the creation of multivalent, multispecific antibody-based therapies aimed at enhancing biological activity and functionality. The platform was invented by Daniel Capon, Ph.D., Hinge Bio’s Chief Scientific Officer, who has a notable track record in pioneering biological therapies. Hinge Bio's initial development efforts are concentrated on autoimmune diseases but also extend to inflammatory, infectious diseases, and cancer.

Ridgeback Capital, founded by Wayne Holman, MD, in 2006, is a private investment firm dedicated to supporting life sciences companies from inception to public market stages. The firm is committed to funding groundbreaking people, ideas, technologies, and companies with the potential to significantly impact society.