Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company advancing novel cerebroprotective therapeutics for patients with brain injuries, announced an oversubscribed pre-Series B Bridge financing round of over $6M that was led by Dreavent Capital, and joined by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, and other investors. The funding will accelerate the clinical development of AST-004, a highly promising therapeutic candidate aimed at treating a broad array of acute brain injuries including stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI), and further assess its potential in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease.
“There are millions of patients living with brain injuries worldwide who face limited treatment options for these devastating conditions,” said William Korinek, Ph.D, CEO, Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals. “With this additional funding, we are poised to accelerate the clinical development of AST-004 and move one step closer to proving this novel approach can benefit patients in dire need.”
Astrocyte is currently conducting Phase 1B clinical safety studies of AST-004 and preparing for Phase 2 efficacy studies in 2024.
“Astrocyte has assembled an exceptional team of experts that are conducting research of the highest quality at every step,” commented Gorka Fius, CEO at Dreavent Capital who led the investment round. “Multiple preclinical studies have demonstrated the broad efficacy of AST-004 in different brain injury types and severities, and reinforces the strong belief in AST-004 and the transformative potential of this therapy.”
Beyond acute brain injuries, research continues assessing the potential of AST-004 to treat chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“Finding innovative ways to target inflammation in the brain will play an important role in the future of combination therapy and precision medicine for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Howard Fillit, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. “Astrocyte’s approach using AST-004 holds promise for reducing astrocyte-induced excess inflammation, which has the potential to provide a neuroprotective effect and may reduce the burden of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the traditional hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.”
In addition to Dreavent Capital and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the investment round was joined by Navis VB Fund I, DeepWork Capital, Mid Atlantic Bio Angels, Boston Harbor Angels, Life Science Angels, Mass Medical Angels, Trend Investment Group, SideCar Angels, and others.
