With programs targeting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, company targets several major drivers of neurodegenerative disease.
US biotech SciNeuro Pharmaceuticals has secured $53 million in new financing to accelerate development of its pipeline of therapies aimed at the underlying biology of neurodegenerative diseases. The Rockville, MD-based biotech has built its strategy around three mechanistic pillars implicated in neurodegenerative disease pathology: neurovascular inflammation, proteinopathy and dysregulated neuro-immune signaling.
SciNeuro is building a pipeline that spans small molecules and antisense oligonucleotides targeting Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other CNS diseases. The company says each of its programs is tied to genetically or mechanistically validated pathways, beginning with a genetic and human-biology-anchored target selection process.
By integrating human genetics, disease-relevant cell models and in vivo systems that approximate human CNS pathology, SciNeuro seeks to increase the predictive value of preclinical work. It then pairs these insights with a delivery strategy intended to improve drug exposure in deep brain regions, including a proprietary shuttle platform designed to enhance delivery across the blood–brain barrier.
SciNeuro’s neurovascular inflammation portfolio focuses on the interface between brain vasculature, immune cells and neurons, an axis that becomes progressively dysregulated with aging and in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. One of its programs targets Lp-PLA2, an enzyme implicated in vascular inflammation. By modulating this pathway, the company aims to interrupt a cycle in which vascular injury and neuroinflammatory signaling reinforce one another.
A second pillar targets proteinopathy, a class of diseases driven by misfolded or aggregated proteins including β-amyloid, tau and α-synuclein. SciNeuro’s work here includes immune-based approaches designed to enhance clearance of these toxic species.
The company’s third mechanistic pillar centers on neuro-immune and synaptic biology. SciNeuro’s programs in this space focus on restoring a balanced immune response and reinforcing synaptic maintenance pathways, with LRRK2, a kinase genetically linked to Parkinson’s disease, a key target.
SciNeuro said the new financing, led by LAV (Lilly Asia Ventures) and ARCH Venture Partners, will be used to move multiple programs through discovery and toward clinical translation. The funding follows a recent $5 million research grant from The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, intended to support the company’s LRRK2 antisense oligonucleotide program through an IND filing.
