Here’s some encouraging news about Fulcrum Therapeutics. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech that is developing a drug to treat Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy has announced it has closed $80 million in series B financing.
The company hopes to go public early next year, after filing papers with the FDA to begin human testing of its first drug, for FSHD, according the Fulcrum’s CEO, Robert Gould.
“We think that the strength of the preclinical data and the quality of the compound is such that it’ll be an attractive investment opportunity,” he says. Fulcrum’s work was presented at the FSH Society’s FSHD Connect conference this past June by Dr. Lucienne Ronco. Her presentation can be seen here.
Fulcrum reached out to patient groups to figure out which diseases to go after, even before the company was officially formed in 2016. That led it to FSHD. Fulcrum has worked with the FSH Society to obtain muscle tissue samples from people with the disease undergoing surgery as part of their treatment. The company has used those samples to grow muscle cells from the tissue and test its drug candidates against those cells. “It’s a unique relationship,” FSH Society CSO and co-founder Daniel Perez told Xconomy last year.
Read more about Fulcrum’s close collaboration with the FSH Society in this Xconomy report.
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Why do you have to wait until next year to start with this and go public? Can you please do it now? We all need this now please.
This is great news,my partner has fshd.we are in the u.k.And from what we can deduce,very little in the way of research is being done over here.
I have this and would be very interested in participating in any trials. Thanks
I have FSHD and my neck is affected. I would love to have a chance to recover my neck muscles ASAP
My husband has fsh muscular dystrophy. It would be wonderful if he could be in a trial study. He is now 71 and it is so sad to watch him deteriorate over the years.
Even if one is above the age limit for a clinical trial, there is much one can do. First, individuals with FSHD should do what they can to maintain their health through a good diet, exercise, and healthy attitude, so that they are in the best possible condition to benefit from treatments when they become available. AND do support the FSHD Society’s efforts to get treatments faster to all of our families. It takes all of us pulling together toward the same goal!