Latigo Biotherapeutics has whipped together a $150 million series B fundraising round to advance a pipeline of non-opioid pain management drugs.
The round was led by Blue Owl Capital, with other participants including Deep Track Capital, Access Biotechnology, Qatar Investment Authority and Sanofi Ventures, Latigo announced in a March 17 release.
Latigo will use the money to move its oral small molecule Nav1.8 inhibitors—LTG-001 and LTG-305—through the clinic as it races to catch up with rival Vertex, which recently had its own Nav inhibitor Journavx (suzetrigine) approved for adults with moderate to acute pain.
Latigo's lead asset LTG-001 is currently being tested in a phase 1 trial with 72 healthy volunteers. The California biotech reported in August 2024 that the treatment was well-tolerated in the early-stage study, with LTG-001’s less than two hour absorption time supporting the idea that the molecule could provide quick pain relief, according to the company.
LTG-001 snared fast track designation from the FDA for acute pain earlier this month, potentially hastening its movement through the clinic and towards a head-to-head showdown with fellow acute pain med Journavx.
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LTG-305, on the other hand, is a chronic pain candidate, with the first patient dosed in a phase 1 trial of healthy volunteers in October 2024. Latigo expects topline results by the middle of 2025, according to an October 2024 release.
If Latigo's chronic pain asset eventually made it to market, the candidate could face competition, with Vertex also angling to get Journavx approved in the indication. Vertex reported in December 2024 that the first-in-class med hit the primary endpoint of a phase 2 trial for patients with lumbosacral radiculopathy, but the treatment performed similarly to placebo, spooking analysts.
Latigo's funds will also support the rest of its pain pipeline, which includes another Nav1.8 inhibitor and an acid-sensing ion channel-targeting asset, both of which are in preclinical development.
“The need for non-opioid pain treatments has never been more urgent, and this financing allows us to accelerate the development of our robust portfolio of pain medicines that have the potential to transform the treatment landscape,” Latigo CEO Nima Farzan said in the release.
About 8.6 million Americans reported misusing prescription opioids in 2023, according to the CDC. The huge market for pain relief and urgent public health need for non-addictive treatment options has led numerous biotechs to attempt developing opioid alternatives.
In addition to Vertex and Latigo, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has been pursuing a non-opioid pain med of its own; the biotech’s AAK1 inhibitor LX9211 recently underperformed in a pair of phase 2 trials, failing in a pooled analysis to beat placebo at taming diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain.
Meanwhile, genetic medicine specialist Sangamo Therapeutics plans to bring its own non-opioid option, an epigenetic regulator for the treatment of a type of chronic pain called idiopathic small fiber neuropathy, into a phase 1/2 trial by the middle of this year.