Frederick’s Veralox Therapeutics raises $5.4M seed round

Frederick-based Veralox Therapeutics said it raised $5.4 million in seed funding as it works to develop therapeutics to treat underlying causes of thrombosis and type 1 diabetes.

Founded in 2017, the company was founded by Drs. Jeffrey Strovel, David Maloney and Matthew Boxer. The company’s lead candidate therapeutic, called VLX-1005, was developed with the University of California Santa Cruz, Thomas Jefferson University, NIH and Eastern Virginia Medical School. The company’s therapeutics are designed to block a specific enzyme that is involved in the rare condition heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis, as well as type 1 diabetes.

The new funding will be used for pre-clinical development activities, which is the research that takes place before testing in humans.

The round was co-led by Boston-based JDRF T1D Fund, which is specifically focused on backing efforts to address Type 1 diabetes, and Sanofi Ventures. VTC Innovation, VTC Seed Fund and the University of Vermont Health Network also participated. From Maryland, state-backed TEDCO and the University System of Maryland’s Maryland Momentum Fund contributed to the round.

With the investment, Sanofi Ventures’ Daniel Mansuri and JDRF T1D Fund Managing Director Katie Ellias are joining the company’s board.

“With the support of the T1D Fund, Sanofi Ventures, and our other investors, we are well positioned to broaden the potential indications for our technology while ensuring sufficient capital to prepare for clinical studies in patients,” Strovel, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.

The company becomes the latest sign of interest in Frederick’s biotech activities. RoosterBio raised $15 million in Series B funding last month, while earlier this year Kite Pharma announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in Frederick County.