Scripps Florida spins off drug research firm

Meds target muscular dystrophy

Jupiter-based research institute Scripps Florida is spinning off a drug development company, Expansion Therapeutics, which on Wednesday announced it has raised $55.3 million in financing.

It is Scripps Florida’s largest spinoff since the institute was founded in 2004, spokeswoman Stacey Singer DeLoye said.

The company, which is developing drugs that target muscular dystrophy and other diseases, will operate out of Jupiter, at wet labs at Florida Atlantic University adjacent to Scripps Florida, and San Diego.

“We’re laser-focused on the most common adult onset form of muscular dystrophy,” said Matthew Disney, a Scripps Florida scientist whose lab research has led to the founding of Expansion Therapeutics.

Disney said he will remain with Scripps and consult with Expansion Therapeutics. The chemist was winner of the National Institutes of Health’s Pioneer Award in 2015.

His lab’s discoveries could address both rare and broader population diseases, he said. That could be as many as 30 genetic diseases, according to Scripps.

Kevin Forrest has been named president and CEO of Expansion Therapeutics. He is co-founder and former chief operating officer for San Diego-based Cidara Therapeutics.

The business will initially employ eight people, Scripps said.

The financing is co-led by 5AM Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Novartis Venture Fund and Sanofi Ventures, with participation from RA Capital Management and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Scott Rocklage, managing partner of 5AM Ventures and chairman of Expansion Therapeutics’ board, said the company has the leadership and plan “to develop medicines for patients with few treatment options.”

Dr. Beth Seidenberg, general partner of Kleiner Perkins, said Expansion Therapeutics has the science that “offers great promise in the treatment” of diseases that currently have no viable therapies.

“We are excited to invest in a company that could make a real difference to patients suffering from these incurable diseases,” she said.

Previous spinoffs from Scripps Florida include Resilience Therapeutics in 2015; Hyconix in 2014; Padlock Therapeutics in 2014, which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb; Ember Therapeutics in 2011, which merged with Mariel Therapeutics; Curna in 2011, which was acquired by Opko Health; and Xcovery in 2007.

Scripps Florida, which had its genesis in a push by former Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature, has been criticized for not generating more businesses and jobs for the local economy. Many of the spinoffs have relocated or opened in cities including Boston, Chicago and New York that have larger biotech communities. An exception was Curna, which was acquired by Miami-based Opko.

Palm Beach County and the state invested more than $600 million in taxpayerbacked incentives to lure The Scripps Research Institute.

Disney