Sling Therapeutics raises $123 million to advance thyroid eye disease drug

Sept 16 — Drug developer Sling Therapeutics said on ​Wednesday it had raised $123 million to advance a late-stage trial of its experimental oral drug to treat thyroid eye ‌disease.

The disease causes inflammation and swelling around the eyes, which can lead to eye ⁠bulging and vision loss.

Here are ​more details:

• The privately held ⁠company said it will use the funds to study its oral ‌drug, linsitinib, in ‌a late-stage trial with about 130 adults who have moderate-to-severe ⁠active thyroid eye disease.

• Participants ⁠will receive either 150 mg of linsitinib or placebo twice daily for 24 weeks.

• In an earlier trial, linsitinib reduced eye bulging, meeting the study's main goal, and also demonstrated a differentiated safety profile for concerns linked to similar treatments, including ‌hearing problems and changes in blood ​sugar and menstrual cycles.

• If approved, linsitinib would become the first oral drug approved for thyroid eye disease, offering an alternative to intravenous treatments such as Amgen's Tepezza and Viridian Therapeutics' Lumvoa.

• Sling CEO Ryan Zeidan told Reuters that linsitinib could offer an alternative for patients whose needs are not well ​met by current biologics, including those concerned about hearing loss linked to ‌Tepezza and Lumvoa ‌or ⁠those for whom intravenous therapy is not practical.

• The Series C funding round was led by venture-capital firm Forbion, with participation from TPG Life Sciences Innovations and Sectoral Asset Management.

• Sling also appointed ‌Regina Salvat of Forbion ​and François Beaubien of Sectoral Asset ‌Management to its board ⁠as part ​of the financing deal.

(Reporting by Kunal Das and Siddhi Mahatole; Editing by ​Diti Pujara)

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