Sound Bioventures Expands Portfolio With New Investment in US Company NephroDI Therapeutics

Sound Bioventures recently announced a new investment in NephroDI Therapeutics, a US-based, near-clinical stage pharmaceutical company focusing on concentration disorders of the kidney. In conjunction with this investment, Bibhash Mukhopadhyay, Managing Partner at Sound Bioventures, will join NephroDI’s Board of Directors.

This investment will be used by NephroDI, together with a previously announced strategic corporate partnership, to advance its lead asset, NDI-5001, into clinical studies later this year. NDI-5001 is a proprietary small molecule AMPK activator that targets the kidney and is a potential first-in-class treatment for Congenital Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus (NDI), a rare X-linked genetic condition that affects individuals from birth. NephroDI’s strategic partner will exclusively develop NDI-5001 through completion of certain clinical studies, with the opportunity to expand the collaboration after those studies complete or upon the achievement of certain pre-defined events.

NDI-5001 is also being considered for treatment in patients with drug induced NDI, which afflicts patients taking certain drugs like lithium for neuropsychiatric conditions.

“At Sound Bioventures, we aim to back innovative companies working to address some of the world’s most pressing health challenges, and we are excited to welcome NephroDI to our portfolio,” said Bibhash Mukhopadhyay, Managing Partner at Sound Bioventures. “With NDI-5001 targeted to enter the clinic later this year and with support from its strategic partner, the Company is uniquely positioned to develop a potentially first-in-class treatment for NDI patients. In conjunction with this investment, I am pleased to be joining NephroDI’s Board of Directors and will be working closely with its exceptional team to support their next phase of growth.”

“Children with NDI and their families are in desperate need of new and better therapies that assist in keeping them healthy,” said Rachael Hagan, CEO of NephroDI. “We are excited that Sound Bioventures has joined NephroDI as an investor and member of the Board. The expertise that NephroDI gains via this partnership will help propel NDI-5001 during the initial clinical phase towards proof of concept. This will position the company to rapidly enter pivotal trials in pediatric patients with this potentially first-in-class NDI therapy.”

Jeff Sands, MD, Chief Medical Officer of NephroDI, said “X-linked NDI is the most common type of inherited NDI, which can cause potentially damaging effects in the children that suffer from it. NephroDI has actively built its expert network, including with leading physicians and the NDI Foundation, to help inform and accelerate the development path for NDI-5001. As a pro-active investor, Sound Bioventures will bring its own expertise and network to bear to help further our mission to advance NDI-5001 as a potential new therapy for patients suffering with X-linked NDI.”

Sound Bioventures is a specialist life sciences venture capital fund investing in about-to-be clinical or clinical stage private companies in Europe and the USA developing specialty therapeutics in areas of significant clinical unmet need. The founding team has an active, hands-on approach and brings considerable operational and VC investment experience, including working together on over 40 investments over the past 15 years. Sound Bioventures operates from key locations in Copenhagen (Denmark), Stockholm (Sweden) and Washington DC (USA). For more information, visit Sound Bioventures.

NephroDI Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat concentration disorders of the kidney. The company’s lead program is NDI-5001, a novel kidney-targeted small molecule AMPK activator being developed as a potential first-in-class treatment of Congenital Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus. For more information, visit www.nephrodi.com.