Ahammune Biosciences Secures $5M in Series A Funding to Advance Vitiligo Treatment
- ByStartupStory | September 25, 2024
Ahammune Biosciences, a Pune-based biotech startup, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by pi Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. The funding round saw participation from Capital2B, Colossa Ventures, Bipin Agarwal, Unicornus Maximus LLP, and existing investors such as Ideaspring Capital, Kotak Alternate Assets, Legacy Assets LLP, and IAN.
The newly raised capital will be primarily utilized to support Phase II human clinical trials for Ahammune’s lead drug candidate targeting vitiligo, a chronic skin condition that causes the appearance of white patches on the skin. The company will also focus on expanding its patent portfolio and accelerating research for other immune-mediated skin diseases.
In an interview with YourStory, Ahammune’s Co-founder, Dr. Parul Ganju, discussed the timeline for the upcoming clinical trial. “The end-to-end Phase II trial will take the company about two years, but we will be able to see the endpoints before that,” she said.
Ahammune is focusing on its proprietary small molecule therapeutics platform, which aims to treat dermatological conditions by targeting cellular processes that affect skin health and immunity. The company is also building a pipeline of patented molecules for other dermatological and autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Ganju further outlined Ahammune’s long-term strategy following the Phase II trial. “Post this (Phase II trial), we are looking for two things: either take this for the next fundraise round series—the bigger fundraise round for taking it for commercialization after doing Phase III—or we are also looking for partners to co-develop this drug candidate for the global market,” she explained.
The company’s current cash reserves are expected to support its research and development efforts over the next two years.
Founded in 2016 by Dr. Parul Ganju and Dr. Krishnamurthy Natarajan, Ahammune Biosciences aims to become a leader in the dermatological drug discovery space by developing innovative treatments for conditions that impact patients worldwide.
Roopan Aulakh, Managing Director at pi Ventures, highlighted the competitive advantage Ahammune holds. “So, they (Ahammune) are solving the problem of vitiligo for now…and there is a big gap in the market in terms of finding a cost-effective, safe, and effective drug which doesn’t exist. Ammune’s drug has a first-in-class mechanism… So, there’s a huge competitive advantage that Ammune has,” Aulakh told YourStory.
While Aulakh did not disclose pi Ventures’ exact investment amount, she confirmed that the fund contributed less than 50% of the $5 million raised.
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