AviadoBio Raises $80 million to Advance Neurodegenerative Gene Therapy Platform

AviadoBio, a gene therapy company focused on developing treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, said it completed an $80 million (£58.6 million) series A financing round, following an initial $16.5 million (£12 million) seed financing.

The funds will be used to advance AviadoBio’s lead program in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) into the clinic, progress its preclinical assets, including for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), while continuing to expand its team.

New Enterprise Associates and Monograph Capital lead the round, which included participation from LSP, as well as seed investors Advent Life Sciences, Dementia Discovery Fund, F-Prime Capital, JJDC, and medical research charity LifeArc. As part of the Series A financing, Matt McAviney, partner at NEA and Tim Funnell, partner at Monograph Capital have been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

AviadoBio’s technology was developed in the laboratory of Christopher Shaw, professor of Neurology and Neurogenetics at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, with the support of the UK Dementia Research Institute, the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, and the Van Geest Foundation, and incubated by F-Prime Capital and JJDC.

“We have seen that modifying gene expression can be curative, but achieving widespread distribution is the greatest challenge. We have shown that precision micro dosing to neural networks will deliver broad CNS expression, providing safe and effective treatments,” said Christopher Shaw, co-founder and chief scientific and clinical advisor of AviadoBio. “We are directly exploiting insights into the causes of diseases to design therapies that have the potential to cure patients for whom there are no effective treatments. I believe that AviadoBio has the potential to move neurodegeneration from palliation to prevention.”

AviadoBio’s platform combines next-generation gene therapy design with neuroscience expertise and a novel neuroanatomy-led approach to drug delivery. Precision micro dosing achieves extensive gene expression throughout the nervous system, maximizing the therapeutic potential for patients living with devastating neurological diseases.

The company is led by CEO Lisa Deschamps, former senior vice president and chief business officer at Novartis Gene Therapies. Deschamps brings more than 25 years of biopharma experience including leading the global neuroscience business of Novartis and the worldwide commercialization of its gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy.

“Our differentiated approach has the potential to transform the treatment landscape and we have the opportunity with our group of experienced investors, our advisors and founders, to change the lives of people living with these debilitating conditions,” said Deschamps. “The expansion of our team and investor syndicate positions AviadoBio to make this mission a reality while advancing the field.”

Photo: Lisa Deschamps, CEO of AviadoBio

Author: Rare Daily Staff