Blade Therapeutics

About Blade Therapeutics

Blade Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for fibrotic and neurodegenerative diseases. The company was founded in late 2015, building upon the research of Dr. Hal Dietz of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Dietz's work on connective tissue disorders, specifically the causes of Marfan Syndrome and Stiff Skin Syndrome, formed the scientific basis for Blade's exploration into new biological pathways involved in tissue fibrosis. Luke Evnin, a managing director at MPM Capital and chairman of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, had been observing Dr. Dietz's research and decided to form a company around it. Wendye Robbins, who was teaching at Stanford Medical School at the time, joined as the incubating CEO. The company launched with initial debt and venture funding, securing a $45 million Series B in 2016 led by Deerfield Management and including investments from major pharmaceutical venture arms like Pfizer Venture Investments, Novartis, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The company's business model centers on the discovery, development, and eventual commercialization of proprietary small-molecule drugs. Its strategy is to target novel biological pathways, such as autotaxin/LPA and dimeric calpains, which are fundamental to the cell and tissue damage seen in fibrosis and neurodegeneration. By focusing on these underlying mechanisms, Blade aims to create disease-modifying therapies for conditions with significant unmet medical needs. The company operates by advancing its drug candidates through preclinical and clinical trials, with the ultimate goal of obtaining regulatory approval and bringing new medicines to patients suffering from these debilitating diseases. In November 2021, Blade announced a definitive merger agreement with Biotech Acquisition Company (BAC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to become a publicly traded entity, though this agreement was mutually terminated in June 2022.

Blade's pipeline includes oral, small-molecule therapies. Its lead investigational medicine for fibrosis is cudetaxestat, a non-competitive autotaxin inhibitor. This drug has shown direct anti-fibrotic activity in preclinical studies and was being developed for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Completed Phase 1 studies showed cudetaxestat was well-tolerated. For neurodegeneration, the company's lead candidate was BLD-2184, a calpain inhibitor designed to penetrate the central nervous system. This candidate was being explored as a potential treatment for inherited neurodegenerative conditions like Huntington's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3).