Allrock gets financing to start trial of PH treatment this year
ROCSTAR will test ROC-101 as combination treatment in PAH, PH-ILD
Allrock Bio has raised $50 million in financing to support the clinical development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) treatment ROC-101.
The company said it will use the funds to launch a Phase 2a clinical trial to test ROC-101 in people with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) or pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD). Allrock said the trial, dubbed ROCSTAR, will test ROC-101 in combination with standard-of-care therapies and will start late this year.
The financing “highlights the value of our pan-ROCK inhibitor approach, which addresses the fundamental drivers, not just the symptoms, of cardiopulmonary diseases, beginning with PAH and ILD-PH,” Catherine Pearce, CEO and co-founder of Allrock, said in a company press release.
Pulmonary hypertension refers to increased pressure in the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs. In PAH, this occurs because lung blood vessels get too narrow due to abnormal cell growth, whereas in PH-ILD, it occurs as a complication of disorders that cause fibrosis (scarring) in the lungs. In either case, pulmonary hypertension puts strain on the heart and makes it hard for the body to effectively take in the oxygen that it needs.
ROC-101 is an oral small molecule designed to block the activity of two related proteins called ROCK1 and ROCK2. Blocking both of these ROCK proteins simultaneously is expected to reduce inflammation and scarring, as well as limit abnormal cell growth.
Phase 1 data show treatment’s promise
“In identifying this asset, we listened to KOLs [key opinion leaders] and clinicians who emphasized the importance of developing a therapy that blocks the non-redundant roles of both ROCK1 and ROCK2,” Pearce said.
Data from a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers revealed a favorable safety profile and found that treatment led to levels of ROC-101’s active ingredient that are expected to be biologically active in PAH and PH-ILD, according to Allrock. The company also said ROC-101 is more selective than fasudil, a ROCK inhibitor approved in Japan for subarachnoid hemorrhage bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin tissues that cover and protect it). An investigator-initiated study found the treatment reduced blood pressure in people with congenital heart disease.
Financing to support the Phase 2a study of ROC-101 was co-led by Versant Ventures and Westlake Biopartners.
“The strong safety profile that ROC-101 has demonstrated in Phase 1 validates the transformative potential of pan-ROCK inhibition,” said Alicia Levey, PhD, venture partner at Versant Ventures and Allrock board member. “We look forward to AllRock’s near-term readouts for ROC-101 as well as progress from its expanding pipeline.”
David Allison, PhD, managing director of Westlake, said the firm is “confident that this team is poised to advance a truly meaningful therapeutic option to patients living with debilitating disease.”
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