Groupon founder invests in Skokie biopharmaceutical

Eric Lefkofsky, CEO and co-founder of Groupon, and his wife Liz have invested in Exicure, a Skokie-based biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of immune-modulatory and gene-silencing drugs.

Since its launch in 2011, Exicure - formerly AuraSense Therapeutics - has been developing gene-regulatory and immuno-modulatory therapeutics based on its proprietary 3-D, spherical nucleic acid technology. It has two preclinical therapeutic candidates - AST-005, for mild to moderate psoriasis, and AST-008 for immuno-oncology applications. AST-005 has exhibited modulation of tumor necrosis factor when topically administered to both healthy and psoriatic human skin and AST-008 has exhibited anti-tumor activity when combined with certain checkpoint inhibitors, when conjugated with tumor-specific antigens, and when administered as a monotherapy across a range of solid and hematological cancers in preclinical studies.