Jetra Therapeutics, a University of Queensland (UQ) start-up company, developing a potential new treatment for obesity-related liver disease, has secured a seed investment of $1.3 million from IP Group.
Jetra Therapeutics Pty Ltd is developing a treatment with the potential to reverse liver damage caused by Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
The company was founded on intellectual property developed at the Mater Research Institute (MRI-UQ) and licensed by UQ’s commercialisation company, UniQuest.
The protein drug candidate was discovered by MRI-UQ Immunopathology Group Leader, Associate Professor Sumaira Hasnain, inflammation expert Professor Mike McGuckin, and clinical endocrinologist Professor John Prins (both now University of Melbourne).
Associate Professor Hasnain said the drug candidate would be used to investigate early-stage liver inflammation, which was difficult to diagnose and typically asymptomatic.
“Australian NAFLD cases are tipped to increase by a quarter by 2030, suggesting an enormous potential for a tsunami of future NASH cases,” Associate Professor Hasnain said.
“We know NASH is the pre-cursor for more serious end-stage liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“In fact, NASH is so prevalent in advanced economies around the world that it’s predicted it will surpass Hepatitis C as the leading cause of liver transplantation.”
Associate Professor Hasnain said MRI-UQ researchers discovered that targeting the liver and pancreas with an engineered cell signalling peptide, called IL-22, led to a decrease of both accumulated fat and inflammation, as well as improved metabolic measures such as glucose tolerance.
IP Group Australia managing director Mike Molinari said the company’s first investment with UQ helped launch Jetra Therapeutics in 2019.
“We’re proud to follow on from that initial investment to bring potential new treatments to patients and see this biologic further developed as a novel, targeted therapy,” he said.
“It is yet another example of the potential for the great research being done at Australia’s universities to improve lives and deliver future jobs and industries.”
UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss said IP Group’s investment reflected the quality of research at MRI-UQ and its ability to attract significant attention from investors.
“This investment is evidence of UQ’s ability to work with the world’s pharmaceutical industry in addressing an area of unmet clinical need,” Dr Moss said.
The funding will allow Jetra Therapeutics to continue its preclinical development plan, including testing the drug candidate in animal models.
Media: UniQuest, Brooke Baskin, b.baskin@uniquest.com.au, +61 409 767 199; IP Group, Lucy Wigney, Cannings Strategic Communications, lwigney@canningscomms.com.au, +61 438 960 201.
About IP Group
IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company focused on evolving great ideas from its partner universities into world changing businesses. The Group pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital, scientific insight, and the supporting infrastructure. In Australia and New Zealand, IP Group works in close partnership with the Go8 Universities and the University of Auckland to identify ground-breaking technologies, rooted in hard science, which have the most promising commercial potential. IP Group, which is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol IPO, has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in early stage to mature businesses across life sciences and technology. http://ipgroupanz.com/
About UniQuest
UniQuest is the commercialisation company of The University of Queensland (UQ). Working at the interface between industry and UQ’s researchers, UniQuest commercialises UQ’s intellectual property in partnership with UQ researchers to create societal and economic impact. Established in 1984, UniQuest’s commercialisation activities have placed UQ at the forefront of academic research translation in Australia.
About Jetra Therapeutics
Jetra Therapeutics is a preclinical biotechnology company developing tidssue-targeted IL-22 proteins for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). IL-22 is a cytokine that can reverse liver inflammation and fat accumulation and improve glucose tolerance in NASH but which promotes unwanted cell proliferation in other tissues. Jetra’s proprietary targeting technology delivers IL-22 specifically to the liver and pancreas, avoiding detrimental effects in other organs. NASH is a liver disease affecting up to 30 million people in the US and Europe. There are currently no approved therapies for NASH and it remains a leading cause of liver transplantation. Jetra is a University of Queensland spin-out company based in Brisbane, Australia.
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