Novo Holdings leads $100 million Series C financing of Asceneuron to advance groundbreaking therapy for Alzheimer's disease

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Jul 16, 2024, 03:00 ET

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
Alzheimer's disease is an area of very high unmet medical need with a lack of oral disease modifying therapies
Naveed Siddiqi, Senior Partner, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings will join Asceneuron Board of Directors

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Holdings, a leading life science investor, today announces it led a $100 million Series C Financing in Asceneuron, a clinical stage biotech company developing small molecules targeting tau protein aggregation, a driver of neurodegenerative disease. 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 tau 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, indicating its potential for differentiation from its competitors. Asceneuron plans to initiate its first Phase 2 clinical study later this year.

Asceneuron has a seasoned leadership team and a world class Scientific Advisory Board of experts in neurodegenerative diseases.

Naveed Siddiqi MD, Senior Partner, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings said: "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."

In connection with the financing, Naveed Siddiqi will join the Asceneuron Board of Directors.

Barbara Angehrn Pavik, Chief Executive Officer of Asceneuron, commented: "This high caliber life science investor syndicate, led by Novo Holdings, 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."

The financing was led by Novo Holdings, with additional new investment from EQT Life Sciences Dementia Fund, OrbiMed and SR One, alongside participation from existing investors, M Ventures and Sofinnova Partners.

About Novo Holdings A/S
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 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 Dementia Fund, GSK Equities Investments Limited, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Kurma Partners, M Ventures, Novo Holdings, OrbiMed, Sofinnova Partners and SR One. For more information, please visit www.asceneuron.com.

SOURCE Novo Holdings