RougeTx, a Netherlands-based preclinical biotechnology company, has raised $58 million in Series A financing to advance its lead program, RTX-001, toward first-in-human clinical development for hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). The round was co-led by BioGeneration Ventures, Angelini Ventures and Kurma Partners, with support from the European Investment Bank through the Aurea co-investment vehicle. Epidarex Capital, Vesalius Biocapital Partners, ROM Utrecht Region, p53 Invest and Kerna Ventures also participated.
RougeTx is a spinout from Leiden University Medical Center and is developing small-molecule therapies designed to restore vascular stability by targeting pericyte dysfunction. Its lead candidate, RTX-001, is being developed as a potential once-daily oral treatment intended to stabilize fragile blood vessels by restoring pericyte attachment.
HHT is an inherited bleeding disorder caused by abnormal blood vessel formation. It can result in recurrent nose and gastrointestinal bleeding, iron deficiency, chronic anemia and complications affecting major organs. RougeTx said there are currently no approved therapies for the condition, with existing care largely focused on supportive and off-label treatments.
The company is led by CEO Andrew Lightfoot. RougeTx’s scientific foundation builds on more than two decades of vascular biology research associated with co-founder Franck Lebrin, initially at Inserm and later at Leiden University Medical Center. The financing will also support the company’s periSCOPE platform as it explores additional therapeutic programs for diseases associated with vascular instability.
