Asceneuron Raises $100M for Phase 2 Alzheimer's Trial

With the initial wave of Alzheimer’s disease drugs hitting the market, investors are eagerly searching for the next groundbreaking advancement in neuroscience research and development. Novo Holdings, the primary stakeholder of Novo Nordisk, has spearheaded a $100 million Series C funding round for Asceneuron, a Swiss company. Asceneuron’s oral small molecule drug, ASN51, targets intracellular tau and has been highlighted by Novo Holdings’ senior partner in venture investments, Naveed Siddiqi, M.D., as having the potential to revolutionize Alzheimer’s treatment.

ASN51 has already demonstrated, through several phase 1 trials, that it can be absorbed by the central nervous system and affect the OGA enzyme. With the new influx of funds, Asceneuron plans to advance ASN51 into a phase 2 trial. According to Asceneuron's website, existing data indicate that ASN51 supports a daily dosing schedule for Alzheimer's treatment, with a midstage study expected to commence in the second half of this year.

Currently, Biogen and Eisai's Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi is available as an intravenous infusion, and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla has recently gained approval as an injectable drug. Asceneuron aims to leverage ASN51’s unique mechanism and its oral formulation to gain an edge over these existing treatments.

New investors such as EQT Life Sciences Dementia Fund, OrbiMed, and SR One, GSK’s former investment arm, joined Novo Holdings in the fundraising. Previous investors including M Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, GSK Equities Investments, and Johnson & Johnson’s investment arm, JJDC, also participated in the round. As part of the financing arrangement, key personnel including Novo Holdings’ Naveed Siddiqi, EQT’s Philip Scheltens, and OrbiMed’s Dina Chaya, Ph.D., will join Asceneuron's board.

“This high caliber of life sciences investors further validates the potential of our OGA inhibitor pipeline and our leadership in tauopathies,” stated Asceneuron CEO Barbara Angehrn Pavik in a release dated July 16. Pavik, who joined the company as CEO in October 2023 after serving as Chief Business Officer at Vifor, expressed enthusiasm for advancing ASN51 into phase 2 clinical development. She emphasized the drug’s potential to significantly expand treatment options for Alzheimer’s patients.

Asceneuron was spun off from Merck KGaA’s Serono division in 2012 and has developed another clinical-stage OGA inhibitor, ASN90. Last year, Ferrer obtained the rights to develop ASN90 for progressive supranuclear palsy, a tau-related disease. In addition to potentially slowing Alzheimer’s progression by preventing tau protein aggregation, Asceneuron noted that inhibiting the OGA enzyme shows promise in preventing protein aggregation linked to other neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.