New York, NY – April 6, 2016- Deerfield Management Company leads a $34 million investment in Lumos Pharma’s Series B financing. The proceeds of the financing will be used to develop LUM-001, Lumos’ lead compound, for the treatment of Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD). Funding will also be used to further develop other therapeutics in the company’s pipeline.
Creatine Transporter Deficiency is a rare defect which causes patients, mostly young boys, to be unable to actively transport creatine across the blood-brain barrier, resulting in delays inexpressive speech and mental development, and also causes these boys to experience behavioral abnormalities, epilepsy and seizures. Due to the clinical presentation, those afflicted with CTD are often misdiagnosed with autism. This disease is severely debilitating,and the young boys require lifelong care. CTD is the second leading cause of X-linked mental retardation in males after Fragile X Syndrome. LUM-001 is a disease modifying therapy and may significantly alter the development of the defect and symptoms.
“We are proud to be partnering with a pioneer in the orphan disease space to develop a cure for CTD. With the similarities of symptoms with autism often leading to misdiagnosis, and the lack of a current effective therapy, CTD often goes untreated. We believe Lumos has the cutting edge science and technology needed to develop LUM-001 to be the first treatment to help these young boys,” stated Cameron Wheeler, a Principal from Deerfield.
“We are excited to have Deerfield as a partner in Lumos. We believe Deerfield has the balance, flexibility and skills to help guide us as we move this important cure forward. Deerfield has a strong history in the orphan space and is committed to improving the lives of patients with CTD,” stated Rick Hawkins, CEO of Lumos Pharma.
About Lumos
Lumos Pharma is focused on bringing novel therapies to patients afflicted with unmet medical needs in severe, rare, and genetic diseases. Lumos Pharma is led by an experienced management team withlongstanding experience in the rare disease space. Lumos Pharma’s lead compound is supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program.
About Deerfield
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy.
For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com
Contacts
Deerfield Management Company
Karen Heidelberger, 212-692-7140
[email protected]