Aileron Therapeutics secures $42m for stapled peptide clinical trial

Aileron Therapeutics has secured the second tranche in its series D financing, meaning the overall total has now reached $42 million (£26 million).

This payment followed the successful progression of the company's ALRN-5281 lead Stapled Peptide drug, ALRN-5281, with proceeds from the move set to be directed to the drug's clinical development.

Investors that participated in this latest round of funding included Apple Tree Partners, Excel Venture Management, Lilly Ventures, Novartis, Venture Funds and Roche Venture Fund.

The solution will be used in patients with orphan endocrine disorders and the ALRN-5281 clinical trial will be the first ever to look into Stapled Peptides, which are a new class of drugs that boast a unique set of properties to tackle the key drivers of diseases such as cancer and endocrine/metabolic disorders.

On the other hand, ALRN-5281 is a proprietary, long-acting growth-hormone-releasing agonist, designed to treat endocrine disorders in human cells, such as adult growth hormone deficiency and HIV lipodystrophy.

Joseph A. Yanchik III, president and chief executive officer of Aileron Therapeutics, said: "These proceeds will allow us to advance ALRN-5281 through Phase 1 development and continue to develop our pipeline of Stapled Peptide drugs.

"This is a critical next step for our company, our collaborators and the emerging Stapled Peptide field. We appreciate the continued support of our investors and look forward to sharing more details around our orphan endocrine disorders program when we initiate the Phase 1 study in the coming months."

News of this latest trial comes after a study led by Judy C Boughey, managing director of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that sentinel lymph node (SLN) surgery after chemotherapy can identify nodal status after treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 84 per cent of node-positive breast cancer patients.