Prana Biotechnology Secures $31.4 Million Strategic Financing to Accelerate Drug Development Programs

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on January 2, 2019, local time, Australian biotechnology company Prana Biotechnology announced the completion of a $31.4 million strategic financing round. The round was led by U.S.-based Life Biosciences. The investment agreement signed by both parties indicated that Life Biosciences invested $7.5 million (approximately A$10.6 million), with the remaining $23.9 million provided by other investors.

Mr. Geoffrey Kempler, Chairman and CEO of Prana, stated, “Life Biosciences’ investment in Prana is a significant recognition of our work in addressing neurodegenerative diseases, and this financing will enable us to accelerate our drug development programs.”

(Image source: Life Biosciences official website)

Prana Biotechnology was incorporated in Melbourne, Australia, in 1997, with offices in both Melbourne, Australia, and San Francisco, USA. The company’s research focus is on neurological disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. To date, Prana Biotechnology has developed a world-leading proprietary library of compounds. This patented compound library is integrated with drug development programs to explore new therapies for multiple disease indications.

Prana Biotechnology is developing best-in-class therapies for pediatric neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead candidate, PBT434, is a next-generation small molecule that inhibits the aggregation of pathological proteins associated with neurodegeneration. PBT434 has been shown to reduce the abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein and tau protein in animal models of disease by restoring normal iron homeostasis in the brain. Consequently, it holds significant therapeutic potential for various forms of atypical parkinsonism, such as multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Currently, there are no known cures for either multiple system atrophy (MSA) or progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), nor are there any treatments available to slow disease progression. It is reported that PBT434 entered clinical trials in mid-2018, where it was administered sequentially to healthy volunteers and patients with MSA and PSP, with separate studies conducted for each group.

Regarding this financing round, David Sinclair AO, Founder of Life Biosciences, stated, “We are delighted to support Prana’s research into neurodegenerative therapies for atypical Parkinson’s disease.” David Sinclair AO is recognized as one of the world’s leading researchers in aging and age-related diseases. He is a Tenured Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research.

Life Biosciences is a privately held U.S. biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), and operations across four continents. Together with its six subsidiaries, the company is dedicated to developing novel therapies, technologies, and drugs to combat multiple age-related decline pathways (ARD). Its research addresses physical decline caused by aging.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is an adult-onset, sporadic neurodegenerative disorder. Its clinical manifestations include varying degrees of autonomic dysfunction, levodopa-resistant parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and pyramidal tract signs. Due to differences in the sequence of involvement of these three systems at disease onset, the initial clinical presentations vary. However, as the disease progresses, pathological and clinical evidence of damage to all three systems ultimately emerges.

PSP, or progressive supranuclear palsy, typically onset between the ages of 45 and 75 (average age 50), with a disease course lasting 6–10 years, and is more common in men than in women. The etiology of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) syndrome remains unknown; although there are rare familial clues, there is a lack of genetic evidence. This disease is characterized by neuron fibrillary tangles in the brainstem similar to those seen in encephalitis lethargica. Some medical researchers speculate that it may be related to slow virus infections, but currently, there are no etiologic clues regarding toxicity, encephalitis, racial, or geographic factors.