Serina Therapeutics Secures $10M to Advance Lead IND Candidate into Phase 1 Trial for Advanced Parkinson's

Dec. 02, 2024-- Serina Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: SER), a biotechnology firm focusing on clinical-stage developments, has announced a $10 million equity financing agreement with JuvVentures (UK) Limited, a strategic shareholder. This capital infusion will allow Serina to advance SER-252 (POZ-apomorphine), utilizing its proprietary POZ Platform™ drug optimization technology, into a Phase 1 clinical trial for Parkinson’s disease treatment in the latter half of 2025.

The funding agreement stipulates that Serina will issue one million shares of common stock at $10 per share, representing a 120% premium over the closing price on November 26, 2024. The financing will be distributed in two phases: the first tranche of $5.0 million was received on November 27, 2024, and the second tranche of $5.0 million is expected by January 31, 2025. Serina has filed a Form 8-K with the SEC on December 2, 2024, detailing this transaction.

SER-252 is an investigational treatment leveraging Serina’s POZ platform. This therapy is engineered to provide continuous dopaminergic stimulation (CDS), which has been shown to mitigate the severity of motor complications associated with levodopa, such as dyskinesia, and to extend the periods during which patients experience relief from symptoms (on time), while reducing periods of symptom re-emergence (off time). SER-252 uses Enable Injections’ enFuse™ wearable drug delivery system to improve patient comfort and convenience, delivering CDS through a long-acting subcutaneous injection that avoids skin reactions.

Serina’s POZ technology is based on poly(2-oxazoline), a synthetic, water-soluble polymer that offers low viscosity. This technology aims to provide improved control over drug loading and more precise release rates for drugs administered via subcutaneous injection. The drugs in Serina’s pipeline typically include well-understood agents that are effective but constrained by unfavorable pharmacokinetic profiles, such as toxicity, side effects, and short half-life. By employing POZ technology, Serina aims to develop drugs that maintain more stable and desirable levels in the bloodstream, particularly beneficial for drugs with narrow therapeutic windows.

The POZ platform has the potential to be applied to a wide range of therapeutic agents and conditions. Serina plans to explore additional applications for the POZ platform through out-licensing, co-development, or other partnership arrangements. This includes a non-exclusive license agreement with Pfizer, Inc. for the use of Serina’s POZ polymer technology in lipid nanoparticle drug (LNP) delivery formulations.

Serina Therapeutics is dedicated to developing a range of drug product candidates to treat neurological disorders and other conditions, leveraging its POZ Platform™ to potentially enhance the efficacy and safety profiles of various therapeutic modalities, including small molecules, RNA-based therapeutics, and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The company is based in Huntsville, Alabama, situated within the HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology campus.