RARE Daily

VectorY Raises $138 Million to Advance Vectorized Antibody Programs in Neurodegenerative Diseases

November 16, 2023

Rare Daily Staff

In one of the largest private biotech financings in Europe this year, Netherlands -based VectorY Therapeutics closed a $138 million (€129 million) series A financing round to advance its vectorized antibody programs in neurodegenerative diseases.

EQT Life Sciences and the Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund co-led the financing, with participation from new and existing investors MRL Ventures, ALS Investment Fund, Forbion Ventures, BioGeneration Ventures, and another known investor.

VectorY will use the proceeds to support the clinical development of VTx-002, its lead vectorized antibody program targeting TDP-43 for the treatment of ALS. The company will also accelerate the development of its vectorized antibody platform and additional pipeline programs targeting proteinopathies causing other neurodegenerative diseases.

VectorY’s platform combines the promise of precise therapeutic antibodies with one-time AAV-based delivery to the CNS. The company’s lead candidate, VTx-002, is being developed to delay disease progression and preserve the quality of life of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). VTx-002, currently in preclinical development, is a vectorized antibody that selectively clears misfolded and aggregated TDP-43 from the cytoplasm of neuronal cells. Thereby, it restores the essential function of TDP-43 in the nucleus leading to preservation of neuronal cell function and health.

ALS is a devastating condition that in the Western world has an estimated lifetime risk of 1 in 250 in males and 1 in 400 in females. It is characterized by the progressive degeneration of motor neurons, which leads to an average life expectancy after diagnosis of only two to five years. Presently there is no cure available to stop or reverse ALS and currently available treatments only slow disease progression by months.

In connection with the financing, Wouter Joustra, general partner at Forbion, Arno de Wilde, director at EQT Life Sciences, and Karin Kleinhans, partner at MRL Ventures Fund will join VectorY’s board of directors.

“The investment will enable us to advance our lead program VTx-002, a potentially disease-modifying therapy for ALS, into clinical development,” said Sander van Deventer, CEO of VectorY. “Our program is uniquely positioned to address TDP-43 pathology, which underlies the disease in the vast majority of ALS patients. The series A will also support advancement of additional pipeline programs targeting proteinopathies in neurodegenerative diseases demonstrating the broad potential of our platform.”

Photo: Sander van Deventer, CEO of VectorY

 

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