Question: What links Ed Kaye, John Maraganore, David Meeker and a handful of other storied biopharma execs? Answer: They have all financially backed and agreed to advise a Dutch startup that just raised a seed round to support the development of a rare disease drug.
Kaye, Maraganore and Meeker—known for their time as CEOs of companies including Sarepta, Alnylam and Genzyme, respectively—are among the eight strategic advisors signed by the startup, Xinvento. They are joined by Hans Schikan, former CEO of Prosensa, James Shannon, a former chief medical officer of GSK and Novartis global head of development, Onno van de Stolpe, former CEO of Galapagos, Daniel de Boer, CEO of ProQR, and Dinko Valerio, co-founder of Leyden Labs.
The list of advisors reflects the connections of the three people behind Xinvento. Piet Wigerinck, the former chief scientific officer at Galapagos, is perhaps the best known of the founding team to biotech watchers. Wigerinck, the scientific co-founder, is joined by the founding CEO Claudine van der Sande, formerly of Sanofi, and business co-founder Sarah Hafith, whose résumé features a stint at ProQR.
That array of talent has come together to tackle congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI), a rare disease associated with abnormally high levels of insulin. The insulin levels drive frequent episodes of low blood sugar that, in infants, are characterized by lethargy, irritability and difficulty feeding. Over time, repeated episodes raise the risk of complications such as breathing difficulties, seizures and intellectual disability.
Van der Sande, who is described as the driving force behind the company, founded Xinvento in 2021 after her son was diagnosed with CHI. The CEO set out the thought process in a statement to disclose the raising of seed funding.
“With my background in the pharmaceutical industry and facing the lack of real treatment options for children like mine with CHI, I saw an opportunity to make a difference. With seed funding secured, the first steps towards an effective and safe treatment are becoming a reality,” van der Sande said.
Xinvento plans to use the seed funding to test proprietary molecules in the relevant preclinical models to identify potential drug candidates. Wigerinck called the science behind the program “intriguing,” but full details of how the biotech intends to tackle CHI are yet to emerge.
KATP channel opener diazoxide is used to treat CHI today and work is underway to expand the treatment arsenal. Eiger BioPharmaceuticals has taken GLP-1 antagonist avexitide to the cusp of phase 3 and Rezolute has a negative allosteric modulator of insulin in the clinic.