- Financing led by Novo Holdings, including new investment
from EQT Life Sciences – LSP Dementia Fund, OrbiMed and SR One
with participation from existing investors M Ventures, Sofinnova
Partners, GSK Equities Investments Limited and
Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc.
- Funds will be used to progress lead asset ASN51, an oral
small molecule OGA inhibitor, into Phase 2 clinical development for
the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
LAUSANNE, Switzerland and SAN
FRANCISCO, July 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Asceneuron SA, a clinical stage biotech company
developing small molecules targeting tau protein aggregation, a
root cause of neurodegenerative disease, today announces an
$100 million oversubscribed Series C
financing to advance the clinical development of its groundbreaking
clinical pipeline of OGA inhibitors for the treatment of
neurodegenerative diseases. The financing was led by Novo Holdings
with new investment from EQT Life Sciences - LSP Dementia
Fund, OrbiMed and SR One, alongside participation
from existing investors M Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, GSK
Equities Investments Limited and Johnson & Johnson
Innovation – JJDC, Inc.
The financing will be used to advance Asceneuron's lead asset
ASN51 into Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of
Alzheimer's disease. ASN51 is an oral small molecule drug designed
to inhibit OGA, an enzyme implicated in protein aggregation. By
preventing the aggregation of tau proteins, ASN51 aims to slow the
progression of Alzheimer's disease. OGA inhibition has also shown
promising potential to prevent the aggregation of proteins that are
central to other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's
disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
ASN51's unique mode of action and convenient oral formulation
make it an ideal therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Asceneuron has completed five Phase 1 clinical trials,
demonstrating complete central nervous system uptake and high OGA
enzyme occupancy. Asceneuron plans to initiate its first Phase 2
clinical study later this year.
Barbara Angehrn Pavik, Chief
Executive Officer of Asceneuron, said: "This high
caliber life sciences investor syndicate further validates the
potential of our OGA inhibitor pipeline and leadership in
the field of tauopathies. We are excited to advance our lead
asset ASN51 into Phase 2 clinical development, recognizing its
potential to significantly expand treatment options for patients
with Alzheimer's disease."
Naveed Siddiqi, MD, Senior Partner, Venture
Investments, Novo Holdings,
commented: "Alzheimer's disease is undergoing a
transformational moment. Millions are afflicted by this devastating
disease and there are very few therapeutic options. Validated
biomarkers are allowing for more focused and rapid development. We
are now witnessing the approvals of the first disease modifying
antibody based injectable therapies. Asceneuron's innovative oral
small molecule drug targeting intracellular tau offers the
potential for a paradigm shift in the way
this neurodegenerative disease is treated."
Hakan Goker, PhD, Managing
Director of M Ventures, the founding investor of Asceneuron,
remarked on behalf of the existing
investors: "Asceneuron has successfully developed
highly differentiated oral OGA inhibitors from pre-clinical
development to where they are today, entering Phase 2 development
in patients with Alzheimer's disease. ASN51 holds great promise as
a next generation treatment for Alzheimer's disease in addition to
addressing other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's
disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Together with the
current blue-chip investors like Sofinnova Partners, who led the
series A round, we welcome the new strong investor group to
continue supporting the company in this significant phase of
development."
In connection with the financing, Naveed
Siddiqi of Novo Holdings, Philip
Scheltens of EQT Life Sciences – LSP Dementia Fund and
Dina Chaya of OrbiMed will join the
Asceneuron board of directors, chaired by Abbas Hussain.
Amit Shah, board director, will now
represent new investor SR One (previously representing GSK). These
Board directors join existing investor directors, Henrijette
Richter of Sofinnova Partners and Hakan
Goker of M Ventures.
About Asceneuron
Asceneuron is a clinical stage biotech company focused on the
development of orally bioavailable therapeutics for debilitating
neurodegenerative disorders with high unmet medical need. The
company's pipeline reflects its ambition and commitment to
developing treatments for a wide range of neurodegenerative
diseases. Asceneuron has two clinical-stage small molecule OGA
inhibitors in development: ASN90 (licensed to Ferrer
Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of progressive supranuclear
palsy (PSP) and a potential best-in-class molecule, ASN51, for
Alzheimer's disease. The company is also planning to advance its
pre-clinical development pipeline in Parkinson's disease,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative
indications. Asceneuron is backed by a renowned syndicate of
investors consisting of Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
(ADDF), EQT Life Sciences - LSP Dementia Fund, GSK Equities
Investments Limited, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc.,
Kurma Partners, M Ventures, Novo Holdings, OrbiMed, Sofinnova
Partners and SR One. For more information, please visit
www.asceneuron.com.
About EQT Life Sciences
EQT Life Sciences was formed in 2022 following an integration of
LSP, a leading European life sciences and healthcare venture
capital firm, into the EQT platform. As LSP, the firm raised over
EUR 3.0 billion (USD 3.5 billion) and supported the growth of more
than 150 companies since it started to invest over 30 years ago.
With a dedicated team of highly experienced investment
professionals, coming from backgrounds in medicine, science,
business, and finance, EQT Life Sciences backs the smartest
inventors who have ideas that could truly make a difference for
patients. The Dementia Fund ($297
million) started in 2020 and has a dedicated team of
neurologists and neuroscientists focused on investing in
therapeutics targeting neurodegenerative diseases. More info:
www.eqtgroup.com.
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram
About M Ventures
M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital fund of
Merck. From its headquarters in the
Netherlands and offices in Germany, USA
and Israel, M Ventures invests
globally in transformational ideas driven by innovative
entrepreneurs in the areas of Healthcare drug development, Life
Science tools, Electronics and Frontier Technology &
Sustainability. Taking an active role in its portfolio companies, M
Ventures teams up with management teams and co-investors to
translate scientific discoveries into commercial success. M
Ventures focuses on identifying and financing novel solutions to
some of the most difficult challenges, through company creation and
equity investments in fields that will impact the vitality and
sustainability of Merck's current and future businesses. For more
information visit www.m-ventures.com.
About Novo Holdings
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is
responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve
people's health and the sustainability of society and the planet by
generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation.
Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is
the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S
(Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment portfolio with a
long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad
portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and
private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life
sciences investor. Through its Seed, Venture, Growth, Asia, Planetary Health Investments and
Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science
companies at all stages of development.
As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets of
EUR 149 billion.
www.novoholdings.dk.
About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with
approximately $17 billion in assets
under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare
industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations,
through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and
royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of
choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global
team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies.
OrbiMed's team of over 130 professionals is based in New York City, San
Francisco, London,
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global
markets. More info: www.orbimed.com.
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital
firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and
sustainability. Based in Paris,
London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of
professionals from all over the world with strong scientific,
medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on
company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences
investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners
with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to
develop transformative innovations that have the potential to
positively impact our collective future.
Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established
venture capital firm in Europe,
with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating
market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over
€2.5 billion under management. For more information please visit:
sofinnovapartners.com.
About SR One
SR One is a transatlantic biotechnology investment firm that
collaborates with entrepreneurs and investment partners in an
effort to build elite biotechnology companies. The Company's
mission is to translate innovative technologies and scientific
discoveries into next-generation medicines with the potential to
benefit patients with significant unmet medical needs. SR One has
offices in Redwood City, CA, and
Philadelphia, PA, in the US and
London in the UK. For more
information, please visit www.srone.com.
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