A South San Francisco biotech company that was co-founded by an OHSU scientist six years ago closed a $68 million financing round this week.
Nura Bio Inc., co-founded by Vollum Director Marc Freeman, is developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of debilitating neurological diseases. The funding brings Nura's initial Series A round of $73 million to $140 million, the company announced.
The Colum Group led the round, with participation from Samsara Bio Capital, Euclidean Capital and Sanofi Ventures.
Nura Bio plans to initiate a Phase 1b or 2 clinical trial on a patient population next year. The Phase 1 trial demonstrated the safety of a compound shown to prevent axon degeneration and provide neuroprotection in mice with nerve injury and disease.
The compound, which grew out of research initially done by Freeman, who has studied axon degeneration for many years. Axons are the long fibers that connect neurons and enable them to function and transmit electrical impulses, but they fall apart in the presence of neurodegenerative diseases or traumatic brain injury.
Freeman and his research team discovered that blocking an enzyme involved in axon degeneration alleviates nearly all pathological effects of traumatic brain injury in mice.
“If it works, it could have broad effects and help a number of patients,” Freeman said.
Also this week, Nura Bio also announced the appointment of Shilpa Sambashivan, the company’s chief scientific officer, as CEO.
