Company developing novel small molecule protein degraders for intractable diseases


SINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ligature Therapeutics Pte Ltd, an early-stage biotech company developing small molecule “protein degrader” therapeutics, has announced the close of USD $6 Million in seed round funding. The financing, led by Lightstone Ventures, with the participation of Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm, SEEDS Capital, will be used to build out the team and advance Ligature’s platform technology.

Lightstone Singapore L.P. cofounded Ligature in 2020 with its scientific founders Alvin Hung, Ph.D., Thomas Keller, Ph.D. and Congbao Kang, Ph.D. to take a novel approach to designing small molecules capable of degrading disease-causing proteins. Drs Hung, Keller and Kang are from the Experimental Drug Discovery Centre (“EDDC”), a national platform hosted by A*STAR for drug discovery and development. Ligature has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with EDDC to develop its protein degrader platform.

“Lightstone Singapore is committed to building companies based on innovative life science-related technologies developed in Singapore. The founding of Ligature is an example of our efforts to translate these Singapore-based scientific innovations into life-saving therapeutics," said Kenneth D. Noonan, CEO of Lightstone Singapore. "By working with highly motivated scientists like Alvin, Thomas and Congbao, we hope to build globally competitive drug discovery companies."

“We are pleased to be co-investing with Lightstone Ventures, a globally recognised life science investor to support Ligature in accelerating their platform technology to develop novel therapeutics for patients,” said Ted Tan, Chairman of SEEDS Capital. “We will continue to work with top-tier investors to build and support deep tech startups such as Ligature, to grow the local biotech sector and further strengthen Singapore's position as a regional Pharmbio hub.”

About Ligature Therapeutics Pte Ltd 
Ligature Therapeutics Pte Ltd is an early-stage drug discovery company taking a novel approach towards developing small molecules for targeted protein degradation to treat intractable diseases. The company was founded by Drs Alvin Hung, Thomas Keller and Congbao Kang with initial investment from Lightstone Singapore, L.P., a Singapore-focused venture fund founded in 2016 by Lightstone Ventures.

About Lightstone Ventures
Lightstone Ventures was founded in 2012 by the General Partners of the life science teams at Advanced Technology Ventures and Morgenthaler Ventures to invest in early-stage breakthrough medical devices and biopharmaceutical companies that have the potential to change medicine. The firm has offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.lightstonevc.com.

About SEEDS Capital
As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital catalyses smart investments into innovative Singapore-based startups with strong intellectual content and global market potential. We co-invest with independent investors in innovative startups. We help our startups commercialize and expand globally through leveraging the expertise and strategic networks of our co-investment partners in areas such as technology translation, commercialization and market expansion. Through co-investments, SEEDS Capital aims to catalyze investments into nascent and strategic sectors. These include Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Health & Biomedical Sciences, Urban Solutions & Sustainability, and Services & Digital Economy.

Media Contact:
Olivia Peter
OPeter@lightstonevc.com 

SOURCE : Ligature Therapeutics Pte Ltd

--BERNAMA