With the help of major UK pharma GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), new biopharma Sitryx has launched operations with funding of $30 million to develop disease-modifying therapeutics in immunometabolism.

The company, which was founded with seed funding from SV Health investors, has raised the capital from a syndicate of specialty international healthcare investors, which also included GSK.

GSK’s interest in Sitryx arose from research through the Immunology Network, an open collaboration that connects the drugmaker to academia. Supported by GSK’s drug discovery and chemistry experts, Sitryx has access to certain GSK technologies and licensing of intellectual property.

The start-up has built a portfolio of projects that address oncology and immuno-inflammatory indications. Sitryx said immunometabolism is a fast-emerging area of investigation into the role of metabolic pathways in immune cell function. Changes to these pathways are known to be pivotal for developing a number of severe diseases, including cancer and autoimmune conditions.

John Lepore, GSK’s senior vice president research, said: “Immunology is at the heart of GSK’s new approach to R&D. Through our Immunology Network, we believe the emerging field of immunometabolism that Sitryx is focusing on has the potential to bring new therapeutic opportunities to patients for a broad range of diseases including cancer. Our investment in Sitryx will allow us to access this exciting science through working closely with world-renowned academic scientists in an open collaborative way.”