Neuron23 Closes $113.5M Series A and B Financing

Neuron23

Neuron23, Inc., a South San Francisco, CA, and Munich, Germany-based early stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases, has launched backed by a combined $113.5m Series A and B financing.

The round was comprised of $33.5m Series A financing from Westlake Village BioPartners and Kleiner Perkins, and $80m Series B financing led by Redmile Group. Additional Series B investors included Westlake Village BioPartners, Kleiner Perkins, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Acorn Bioventures, HBM Partners, Perceptive Advisors, and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company). In connection with the Series A and B rounds, Beth Seidenberg, Amrit Nagpal (Redmile Group), Kevin Raidy (Cowen Healthcare Investments), Michael Almstetter (Origenis), and Nancy Stagliano serve on the Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its pipeline and expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled drug discovery and biomarker platforms for identifying therapeutics for devastating neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease, neuroinflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and systemic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Specifically, the round will allow the company to advance two-to-three existing development candidates into the clinic in the next 24 months, and to bolster its platform to identify genetic signatures of patients most likely to respond to the development candidates. Within each program, the potential exists to address multiple central nervous system (CNS) and systemic diseases, creating “pipeline within a product” opportunities. Proceeds from the financing will also support talent recruitment, technology development, and intellectual property (IP) expansion and protection.

Founded through an innovative partnership with German biotechnology company, Origenis GmbH, and led by Nancy Stagliano, PhD, CEO and Board Chair, Neuron23 is an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing precision medicines for genetically defined neurological and immunological diseases. It is advancing multiple therapeutics addressing genetically validated targets, with lead programs against leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a gene associated with Parkinson’s disease and systemic inflammatory diseases, and tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), a JAK family protein that plays a role in pathological immune signaling. The prioritization of LRRK2 and TYK2 allows the company to spotlight its foundational strengths in chemistry, biology, human genetics, and AI.

Neuron23 has been working in stealth mode since its founding in October 2018 by neurogeneticist and Chief Business Officer Adam Knight, PhD, along with Origenis GmbH, and Kleiner Perkins.

FinSMEs

16/12/2020

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