Nura Bio secures $68M for SARM1 inhibitor trials to combat nerve degeneration

Nura Bio, a biotechnology startup located in South San Francisco, is working on an innovative approach to combat nerve degeneration. This startup has developed an oral small molecule inhibitor targeting the enzyme SARM1, which plays a role in various neurological disorders, including ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). According to neuroscientists, inhibiting SARM1 could potentially slow, halt, or even prevent nerve cell death.

Recently, Nura Bio completed a study of its drug, NB-4746, involving healthy volunteers. Alongside this milestone, the company announced an extension of its Series A financing, securing an additional $68 million. This new funding brings Nura Bio’s total capital to $141 million since its inception in 2020. The latest financial boost is intended to support the commencement of a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in patients by 2025. Dr. Shilpa Sambashivan, who has transitioned from Chief Scientific Officer to CEO, expressed optimism about the drug's broad therapeutic potential. However, the company is still deliberating on which specific disease to target first with the new treatment.

Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical company, is also working on a SARM1 inhibitor. They acquired this asset through the purchase of Disarm Therapeutics in 2020, a deal that included a $135 million upfront payment and potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.225 billion. Eli Lilly is currently examining the safety of its SARM1 inhibitor in a Phase 1 trial involving healthy volunteers, expected to conclude by June 2025. Like Nura Bio, Eli Lilly has not yet disclosed which disease it will prioritize for further testing.

Selecting the appropriate disease for initial testing is crucial. The neurodegenerative disease field has seen many promising preclinical compounds fail to produce significant results in human trials. Nura has evaluated its drug in models of ALS, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Sambashivan also sees potential applications in treating eye conditions like glaucoma and preventing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies. To gauge the drug’s efficacy, Nura plans to monitor levels of neurofilament light, a protein released as neurons deteriorate.

Nura Bio, which currently has fewer than 20 employees, builds on research from Marc Freeman of Oregon Health & Science University. Freeman discovered genetic mutations in SARM1 that offer protection against axon degeneration. Initially, scientists believed SARM1 was part of the immune system, but it was later identified as an enzyme that degrades NAD, a molecule essential for many enzymatic processes. Much of Nura's research has focused on understanding SARM1's mechanisms to develop an effective inhibitor. Despite progress, the enzyme’s exact role in axon degeneration remains partly enigmatic. Although SARM1 does not directly dismantle neuron ends, its involvement in NAD breakdown is linked to nerve cell death. “We don’t completely understand the connection,” said Sambashivan, but emphasized that the enzyme is normally inactive in healthy individuals, regulated by multiple checks and balances.

The recent funding round for Nura Bio was led by The Column Group, the company’s founding investor. Existing investors Samsara BioCapital and Euclidean Capital, along with new participant Sanofi Ventures, also contributed. “We’ve been very fortunate to have our investors stay with us,” Sambashivan remarked. She noted that advancing scientific research is often challenging and cannot always be accelerated by financial resources alone.