LipimetiX: Aping APOE

LipimetiX LLC is hoping to bypass defective LDL receptors in the livers of patients with heritable hyperlipidemia with its mimetics of apolipoprotein E, a protein that can target two additional hepatic receptors capable of clearing LDL. The company is raising a $10-$15 million series A round to fund a Phase I/II trial it hopes to begin in 3Q11.

Patients with heritable hyperlipidemias, such as familial (type II) hypercholesterolemia, lack functional LDL receptors in the liver, which results in greatly decreased LDL clearance...