What Happened To Triplet Therapeutics & Why Did It Fail?
January 24, 2025
Triplet Therapeutics was a biotech company focused on developing treatments for repeat expansion disorders like Huntington’s disease. Launched with $59 million in funding, it aimed to target the DNA damage response pathway. Despite early promise, financial struggles and clinical challenges led to its quiet shutdown.
What Was Triplet Therapeutics?
Triplet Therapeutics developed antisense therapies targeting repeat expansion disorders like Huntington’s disease. Their unique value proposition lay in addressing over 40 genetic diseases by focusing on the DNA damage response pathway. Notable achievements include raising $59 million in funding and initiating the Shield-HD study, continued by CHDI.
What Happened to Triplet Therapeutics?
The story of Triplet Therapeutics is a compelling narrative of ambition, innovation, and eventual closure, marked by several key phases:
Initial Funding and Ambition: Triplet Therapeutics launched in 2019 with a $59 million Series A round from investors like Atlas Venture, MPM Capital, and Pfizer Ventures. The company aimed to develop antisense therapies targeting repeat expansion disorders, focusing on the DNA damage response pathway.
Clinical Challenges: Despite its innovative approach, Triplet faced significant hurdles with its lead compound, which had issues with ASO toxicity in the central nervous system. These clinical challenges were a major factor in the company's inability to progress its treatments.
Financial Struggles: The company struggled to attract further investment due to a general slowdown in biotech financing and repeated failures in Huntington’s disease trials by other companies. This financial strain ultimately led to its shutdown.
Continued Research: Although Triplet Therapeutics ceased operations, its partner CHDI will continue the Natural History Study (Shield-HD) initiated by the company. This ensures that the valuable research and data collected will still contribute to the scientific community.
Community and Legacy: The closure announcement by CEO Nessan Bermingham on LinkedIn expressed gratitude to employees, advisors, investors, and patients. Despite the company's end, the underlying science of targeting repeat expansion disorders remains a viable area of research.
When Did Triplet Therapeutics Shut Down?
Triplet Therapeutics shut down around October 12, 2022, as confirmed by CEO Nessan Bermingham on LinkedIn and reported by STAT News. The closure was attributed to financial struggles and clinical challenges, particularly with their lead compound's toxicity in the central nervous system.
Why Did Triplet Therapeutics Shut Down?
ASO Toxicity in CNS: The lead compound showed issues with antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) toxicity in the central nervous system. This significant challenge hindered the progress of their treatments and was a major factor in the company's inability to advance its clinical programs.
Failures in Huntington’s Trials: Repeated failures in Huntington’s disease trials by other companies negatively impacted investor confidence. This made it difficult for Triplet to secure the necessary funding to continue its operations and develop its therapies.
Biotech Financing Slowdown: A general slowdown in biotech financing created a challenging environment for raising new funds. This financial strain was exacerbated by the broader market conditions, making it difficult for Triplet to attract further investment.
Modality Issues: The chosen therapeutic approach, specifically the ASO modality, proved to be unsuitable. As noted by Caroline L. Benn, the ASO modality wasn't the right one for their targets, indicating inherent issues with their therapeutic strategy.
Operational Challenges: Discovering first and best-in-class therapeutics is inherently challenging. As Andrea DiMella pointed out, the complexity and difficulty of developing new treatments contributed to the company's struggles and eventual closure.
Lessons Learned from Triplet Therapeutics's Failure
Understand Modality Suitability: Ensure the chosen therapeutic approach aligns with the target disease to avoid inherent issues that can derail clinical progress.
Anticipate Financial Challenges: Be prepared for market fluctuations and investor sentiment shifts, which can impact funding opportunities and operational sustainability.
Address Clinical Hurdles Early: Identify and mitigate potential toxicity or efficacy issues in the early stages to prevent costly setbacks later in development.
Build Investor Confidence: Maintain transparent communication and demonstrate consistent progress to secure and retain investor trust, especially in a volatile market.
Leverage Partnerships: Collaborate with research organizations and industry partners to share resources, knowledge, and mitigate risks associated with drug development.
Adapt to Market Conditions: Stay agile and ready to pivot strategies in response to changing financial landscapes and scientific advancements.
Focus on Core Strengths: Concentrate efforts on areas of expertise and avoid overextending resources on less familiar or unproven modalities.
Learn from Industry Trends: Monitor and analyze the outcomes of similar ventures to inform strategic decisions and avoid common pitfalls.
We Shut Down Startups
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If you're navigating the difficult process of winding down your startup, let Sunset handle the heavy lifting. Book a demo today to see how we can help you avoid penalties, reduce liabilities, and move forward seamlessly.
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