Enlaza Therapeutics, a San Diego-based startup, has raised a $100 million Series A round to develop biologic cancer drugs designed to latch onto their targets through covalent bonds.

总部位于圣地亚哥的初创公司Enlaza Therapeutics已筹集了1亿美元的首轮融资，以开发旨在通过共价键锁定其靶标的生物癌症药物。

The new funding announced Tuesday and led by the life sciences investment arm of J.P. Morgan comes two years after the company debuted with a $61 million seed round. The cash should pave the way for the company to begin its first clinical trials.

摩根大通（J.P.Morgan）生命科学投资部门于周二宣布了这项新资金，两年前该公司首次推出了6100万美元的种子基金。这笔资金将为该公司开始首次临床试验铺平道路。

Enlaza develops covalent drugs, known as such because they tightly bind to proteins instead of bouncing in and out of their targets. Such medicines, which are typically small molecules, have been around for decades and are often discovered accidentally. But relatively recently, the pharmaceutical industry and a number of drug startups have emerged with plans to design covalent therapies more purposefully..

Enlaza开发出共价药物，因为它们与蛋白质紧密结合，而不是在靶标上来回跳跃。这种药物通常是小分子的，已经存在了几十年，并且经常被偶然发现。但相对而言，最近，制药行业和许多药物初创公司已经出现了更有目的地设计共价疗法的计划。。

Enlaza is specifically focused on bringing the approach to biologics. With the help of a technology it calls “War-Lock,” the startup introduces proprietary amino acids to protein drugs, an approach that’s designed to form an irreversible bond with a disease target. The company claims this method should lead to more precise and potent medicines and is initially working on cancer drugs, though it may eventually branch out into other therapeutic areas..

Enlaza专注于将这种方法引入生物制剂。借助一种被称为“战争锁”的技术，这家初创公司将专有氨基酸引入蛋白质药物，这种方法旨在与疾病靶标形成不可逆的键。该公司声称，这种方法应该会产生更精确和有效的药物，并且最初正在研究抗癌药物，尽管最终可能会扩展到其他治疗领域。。

“We think there are very clear opportunities in the world of oncology,” CEO Sergio Duron said in an interview. But “ultimately, our goal is to provide better, more efficacious, safer drugs for patients.”

首席执行官塞尔吉奥·杜龙（SergioDuron）在接受采访时表示：“我们认为肿瘤学领域存在着非常明显的机会。”。但“最终，我们的目标是为患者提供更好、更有效、更安全的药物。”

The company’s research remains in early stages. In the year and a half since it emerged from stealth, the Enlaza has begun putting a pipeline together and run some preclinical studies. Duron contends those studies have displayed “the advantages of covalent protein drugs,” but the company is still a few years away from the types of human trials that can more definitively prove its claims..

该公司的研究仍处于早期阶段。自隐形出现以来的一年半时间里，Enlaza已经开始组装管道并进行一些临床前研究。杜伦辩称，这些研究显示了“共价蛋白药物的优势”，但该公司距离能够更明确地证明其主张的人体试验类型还有几年的时间。。

Duron didn’t say how long the company’s financial runway is, or which diseases or drug targets it’s pursuing first. But Enlaza has grown to employ 45 people and, with the help of the new funding, could add at least 20 more to its workforce. It’s expecting to advance “several development candidates” towards clinical trials as well, Duron said..

Duron没有说公司的财务跑道有多长，也没有说它首先关注哪些疾病或药物。但Enlaza已经发展到雇佣45人，在新资金的帮助下，可能会增加至少20名员工。Duron说，这也有望将“几个开发候选人”推向临床试验。。

“We have a well designed plan in place, and more importantly, are financed to be able to achieve those goals,” Duron said.

杜伦说：“我们有一个精心设计的计划，更重要的是，我们有资金来实现这些目标。”。

J.P. Morgan was joined in the funding round by Amgen Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments and the newly launched venture arm of Regeneron. Enlaza’s prior backers, such as founding investor Avalon Ventures and Frazier Life Sciences, also participated.

J、 摩根大通加入了安进风险投资公司、亚历山大风险投资公司和Regeneron新成立的风险投资部门的融资回合。Enlaza之前的支持者，如创始投资者Avalon Ventures和Frazier Life Sciences，也参加了会议。

The financing comes amid a recent upswing in biotechnology venture investments following a prolonged downturn. Biotech venture funding surged from $4.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to $6.5 billion in the first three months of 2024, according to data from J.P. Morgan and DealForma.

此次融资正值生物技术风险投资在长期低迷后出现上涨之际。根据摩根大通和DealForma的数据，生物技术风险投资从2023年第四季度的49亿美元飙升至2024年前三个月的65亿美元。