Find gets new funding for treatment to repair damaged myelin
Funds will help company advance tasronetide to Phase 2 trials
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- MS involves myelin damage, which disrupts nerve communication.
- Tasronetide aims to repair myelin by blocking the NRP1/Plexin-A1 complex.
- New funding will help move the treatment into Phase 2 trials.
Find Therapeutics has secured CA$10 million (approximately $7.4 million) in funding to continue advancing tasronetide, its lead candidate for boosting myelin repair in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The Series A extension financing round follows the completion of a Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers, in which tasronetide was deemed safe and well tolerated. The company said it will use the funds for a Phase 1b PET imaging clinical trial in people with MS and other activities to prepare the therapy for Phase 2 testing.
The funding “demonstrates the continued confidence of our investors in Find’s mission and progress,” Frédéric Lemaître Auger, PhD, interim president and CEO, said in a company press release. “With this additional funding, we are well-equipped to drive our pipeline forward, including conducting a de-risking Phase 1b PET trial and achieving Phase 2-readiness.”
MS is caused by inflammatory attacks that damage the myelin sheath, a protective layer around nerve fibers that helps them send electrical signals more efficiently. The damage results in disrupted nerve communication, leading to a range of MS symptoms.
Most available disease-modifying therapies for MS work to suppress inflammation and limit new tissue damage. These treatments can prevent new disease activity and slow the accumulation of disability, but they are generally unable to reverse existing damage.
Myelin repair is important goal
Scientists believe that boosting myelin repair in MS patients may offer the potential to recover lost neurological function and ease disability. Repairing myelin is a major goal in MS research.
Tasronetide, formerly known as FTX-101, aims to repair myelin by blocking a transmembrane receptor complex called NRP1/Plexin-A1 that regulates myelin formation in the brain and spinal cord. When this complex is activated, it prevents oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for making myelin, from migrating into regions of damage and making new myelin.
By interfering with this signal, tasronetide aims to remove the brake on myelin repair and allow the brain’s own repair mechanisms to restore damaged myelin. The therapy demonstrated neuroprotective effects and strong myelin repair activity in clinical models, according to Find.
The new funding round came from existing investors CTI Life Sciences, Investissement Québec, and Admare Bioinnovations.
Find also announced a leadership update, naming Thierry Abribat, PhD, executive chairman. Abribat will succeed Paul F. Truex, who will remain an active member of the board.
“Our team is deeply committed to bringing a well-needed novel therapeutic approach to patients suffering from demyelinating diseases,” Abribat said. ” I look forward to working closely with the Board and the leadership team to bring the company to its next stage of growth.”
