AstronauTx closes £48 million Series A financing to create new treatments for Alzheimer's disease
Biotech start-up company developing new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions based on amplifying the brain's own physiological protective mechanisms
AstronauTx Ltd., a biotech company developing novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, announced the completion of a £48 million ($61 million) Series A financing.
The financing was led by the Novartis Venture Fund attracting capital from several leading global venture investors, including Brandon Capital, Bristol Myers Squibb, EQT Life Sciences investing from the LSP Dementia Fund, MPM Capital with participation from current investor, the Dementia Discovery Fund.
AstronauTx was created by the Dementia Discovery Fund in 2019 with additional seed stage funding from the UCL Technology Fund and the UK Future Fund, with the goal of developing novel drugs to correct the disrupted physiology of the brain, partly through improving the support function of astrocytes, the most abundant cell type in the brain.
In July 2023, AstronauTx announced a partnership with Saniona, a Danish biotechnology company, to identify new treatments by modulating a novel, undisclosed ion channel target, expanding the company's portfolio of programmes. In September 2023, AstronauTx was awarded an Innovate UK grant to fund preclinical work on one of its programmes.
The proceeds of the Series A financing will be used to advance the company's portfolio of small-molecule drugs, including a clinical study in patients with Alzheimer's disease for the lead programme. The treatments are expected to provide both symptomatic and disease modifying benefits.
"We now know that the processes causing Alzheimer's and other similar diseases are modifiable. Progress towards a compendium of new drugs against these devastating diseases is thankfully well underway. Our treatments will be oral drugs, applicable across multiple neurodegenerative conditions, and additive with mechanisms that are currently in late-stage development," said Dr. Ruth McKernan, co-founder of AstronauTx.
Dr. Marianne Uteng, Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund, said: "We are proud to have gathered a stellar international syndicate that aims to develop new therapies for Alzheimer's Disease. The founders and investors include world experts in neuroscience, and the founder's discovery is thought to have potential in halting disease progression & improve patients' quality of life."
Dr. Laurence Barker, Partner with the Dementia Discovery Fund, said: "DDF led the creation of AstronauTx to pursue the development of novel mechanisms to treat Alzheimer's and the lean team have done a fantastic job building an exciting early stage portfolio. We are thrilled to see their hard work recognised by this leading venture syndicate and raise sufficient capital to advance these novel approaches into patients.'.
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