$123M Funding for Sling Therapeutics' Experimental Thyroid Eye Disease Pill

Sling Therapeutics has raised $123 million in its Series C financing round to advance its experimental thyroid eye disease pill, linsitinib. The funding will support a new global Phase 3 study called 'Orbit' that aims to confirm the results of an earlier late-stage trial.

Linsitinib is an oral drug that targets IGF-1R, a protein involved in inflammation in thyroid eye disease. Unlike existing treatments like Amgen's Tepezza and Viridian Therapeutics' Lumvoa, which are administered via injection or IV infusion, linsitinib is taken orally twice daily.

According to Ryan Zeidan, president and CEO of Sling, the oral drug design should help it dodge side effects associated with approved TED medicines, such as hearing loss and fertility issues. Testing has shown a 52% response rate after 24 weeks, with no reported cases of hearing loss or tinnitus.