Peter Hecht’s $81M pledge to salvage Cyclerion assets nabs Polaris support

Peter Hecht and his crew are ready to reveal the name behind their new startup and disclose the identity of another VC investor behind their previously disclosed $81 million Series A.

The new biotech, Tisento Therapeutics, said Monday that Polaris is part of the syndicate behind its bid to revive a mid-stage rare disease asset out of Cyclerion Therapeutics. Polaris, a blue-chip life sciences firm that has also backed Cyclerion, joins Tisento’s syndicate of Invus, Hecht himself, Sanofi Ventures, Venrock, J. Wood Capital and other unnamed investors that were first unveiled in May.

The deal gives Cyclerion a cash runway into 2025 while Hecht’s recently formed Tisento secures the Phase IIb-ready zagociguat and preclinical-stage CY3018. Tisento said it is “laser-focused on executing” on a Phase IIb study of the brain-penetrant sGC stimulator, which the biotech hopes can treat CNS and peripheral symptoms of various mitochondrial diseases. It will begin with the rare disease known as MELAS, short for mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes.

Tisento declined to provide further details on the Phase IIb plans. In Italian, “ti sento” means “I hear you” or “I feel you.”

Bryan Roberts

“We have significant momentum and a strong sense of urgency to deliver on behalf of patients who currently have no treatment options,” Bryan Roberts, Tisento chair and Venrock partner, said in a press release.

Hecht had tried spinning out the drugs last fall after Cyclerion went back to the drawing board and reorganized, but the board said no. In May, they reversed course and gave a thumbs-up to a deal with lots of financial engineering, and the asset purchase has closed, they announced Monday. The deal includes Tisento forking over 10% equity to Cyclerion with “anti-dilution protection through $100 million in post-money valuation,” the right to buy more equity down the road, a $10.4 million cash payment and a $5 million check from Hecht.

Cyclerion will use the money to support its “externalized business model,” which will focus on “later-staged, de-risked, quick-to-advance CNS assets,” chair Errol De Souza said in a statement. It also has olinciguat, a cardiovascular disease asset that it can develop in-house or out-license. Akebia is testing Cyclerion’s praliciguat for rare kidney disease.

therapeutics
biotech
life sciences
vc
buy