Academic spin-out targets new anticoagulants

A new company has spun out of the UK’s University of Leeds with the stated aim of developing advanced anticoagulants with minimal bleeding risk.

LUNAC Therapeutics is targeting activated Factor XII to identify and develop new anticoagulants in the hope that targeting the coagulation cascade at the level of Factor XII will reduce the risk of bleeding, which can be caused by current therapies.

Epidarex Capital and the University of Leeds have led the Series A financing round of LUNAR, which has pocketed the company £2.65 million ($3.4 million). Previously, research had been funded by UK charities the Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council.