Melbourne, Australia, 04 June 2018: Certa Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on improving lives by developing innovative precision treatments for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, is pleased to announce A$25m in funding has been received.
Certa Therapeutics, led by CEO and founder Professor Darren Kelly has been awarded A$22 million by the Biomedical Translation Fund (BTF), the largest ever investment to date by the Fund in its history, and a further A$3m from Uniseed as well as funding from University of Melbourne.
Certa Therapeutics is investigating novel drugs that block a receptor that is a key driver of fibrosis (scarring) of the kidney, skin, and other organs. This research is focused on the emerging field of medical science which uses diagnostic testing and genetic information to identify the most suitable patients for treatment.
The targeting of fibrosis in patients with kidney disease will help reduce the need for much more expensive and complicated treatments where fibrosis of the kidney leads to organ failure and ultimately dialysis or kidney transplantation. There are currently no treatments available for kidney fibrosis and given the enormous cost of dialysis and kidney transplants to the healthcare system, finding an effective treatment for these patients remains one of the global healthcare industry’s largest unmet needs.
The technologies being developed by Certa Therapeutics could be worth up to US$5 billion annually, and if successful could prove to be a breakthrough in kidney disease treatment and related diseases.
Professor Kelly said, “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in medical science. Access to genetic data is transforming how we treat diseases. Rather than creating drugs that work for the majority of the population, we can now tailor our treatment based on an understanding of a patient’s genetic make-up and disease characteristics.”
“The scale of this investment has been made possible by the BTF,” said Dr Chris Nave, CEO of the MRCF and Managing Director of Brandon Capital. “In many ways this investment represents the raison detre of the BTF, taking great Australian medical science and providing it with access to sufficient capital to enable its continued, late stage, clinical development in Australia. The BTF was designed to be transformative for our local industry, providing the ability for research discoveries to be developed from concept to commercialisation right here in Australia, creating jobs and growing a sustainable industry along the way.”
“Certa’s technology is at the forefront of efforts to treat kidney disease and provides another great example of world leading biotechnology research being conducted in Australia,” said Dr John Kurek, Investment Manager at Uniseed.