AllRock financing signals new phase for pan-ROCK inhibitor innovation

Thirty years after emerging as a drug target, ROCK is gaining new momentum as companies pursue the kinase in a wider range of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. With a $50 million series A round and a compound licensed from Sanofi, Boston-based AllRock aims to show pan-ROCK inhibition is key to this expansion.

The first three ROCK inhibitors to receive regulatory approval non-selectively targeted both the ROCK1 and ROCK2 isoforms. Since then, the field shifted toward ROCK2-selective compounds to maximize efficacy in autoimmune and fibrotic diseases while minimizing systemic issues associated with ROCK1 inhibition, particularly hypotension. ...