Elixiron Immunotherapeutics, Inc.

TOKYO, June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dioseve Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo; CEO: Kazuma Kishida; hereinafter "the Company"), aiming to develop assisted reproductive technology using oocytes derived from iPS cells, has raised 7 million USD. This was achieved through third-party allotment of shares to six VC and CVC firms, including lead investors Spiral Capital and Archetype Ventures, existing investor ANRI, a pharmaceutical company ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and other investors. This funding will be used to advance research and development and expand the workforce for global expansion. With this round, the total funds raised to date amount to approximately 10 million USD. Investors (in no particular order, titles omitted) Spiral Capital Inc. Archetype Ventures LLC ANRI Inc. (existing investor) DG Daiwa Ventures Inc. Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (ASKA Innovation Fund*1) QR Investment Inc. (Hokuriku Regional Venture Fund*2) Two individual investors *1. The Common name for the "ASKA Innovation Investment Limited Partnership," co-managed by ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd. *2. The Common name for the "Hokuriku Regional Venture Investment Limited Partnership," co-managed by QR Investment Inc. (a subsidiary of Hokugin Financial Holdings Inc.) and Carbon Ventures Inc. (a subsidiary of Mitsutani Sangyo Co., Ltd.) About the Pipeline The Company's main pipeline is the provision of a new infertility treatment using the "DIOLs" technology. This method involves introducing specific genes into iPS cells to produce oocytes in a short period, without expensive growth factors or advanced techniques required by existing production methods, enabling oocyte production in cheap and large quantities. Significance of the Technology Assisted reproductive technology has seen little innovation since the invention of IVF 45 years ago, and fertility largely depends on individual conditions and age. Consequently, many women face life plans based on optimal reproductive age and must choose between a career or having children. By applying this technology in assisted reproductive medicine, we aim to free couples from "not knowing if they can have children" and the constraints of optimal reproductive age, offering them the choice to become mothers at their desired time. Company Overview Company Name: Dioseve Inc. Headquarters: 1-17-8 Shin-Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo Mitsui Link Lab Shin-Kiba 2, Room 223 CEO: Kazuma Kishida Established: June 30, 2021 Business: Development of assisted reproductive technology using oocytes derived from iPS cells Website: SOURCE Dioseve, Inc.

Repurposing complement inhibitors to see whether they are effective against neurodegenerative diseases is already in development. With Alzheimer’s disease therapies finally reaching the market and hundreds of active clinical trials for therapies and diagnostics, it seems like every week brings another potential avenue to explore in combating the neurodegenerative disease. The most recent update comes courtesy of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which pinpointed a brain protein that could offer a fresh target. The development builds on a growing body of work showing that dysregulation of the complement cascade—a set of immune system proteins that protect against infection in the body—in the brain is linked to the cell damage and cell death seen in a range of neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. The breakthrough from researchers including at the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has been to identify neuronal pentraxin protein Nptx2 as a regulator of the complement system in the adult brain. It’s the first time scientists have been able to confirm a brain regulator of the cascade, they wrote in a study published in Science Translational Medicine March 29. Nptx2, which is secreted by excitatory neurons, is already used as a biomarker for a range of neurological disorders. A clue to its potential role is the fact that Nptx2 levels are depleted in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, schizophrenia and Down syndrome. The researchers used neurodegeneration mouse models to test the effects of boosting Nptx2 levels or blocking complement protein in cells. In one of these mice models, a lack of Nptx2 was tied to increased activity of the complement system as well as the destruction of synapses by the brain’s immune cells. When C1q, the initiating factor of the complement cascade, was eliminated from these animals—either via genetic deletion or with antibody blocking—the researchers noted that synapses in the brain tissue recovered. Similarly, in mice with overactive brain immune cells and high activity of the complement pathway, boosting production of Nptx2 in certain brain cells reversed the loss of synapses. But would the approach also work in humans? To test this out, the researchers assessed levels of C1q and also C3b—an activated complement protein further down the cascade—in symptomatic and presymptomatic patients with genetic frontotemporal dementia. They noted that levels of C1q and C3b were both higher in patients already showing symptoms, while the level of Nptx2 in these patients was lower. An even more intriguing discovery was that Nptx2 bound to C1q was reduced in symptomatic patients, “suggesting that abundant unbound C1q could be driving synapse loss and leading to symptoms of dementia,” according to Broad Institute's press release. “There’s still a lack of understanding of precisely what factors and sequence of events drive neurodegenerative disorders,” the study’s co-senior author Borislav Dejanovic, Ph.D., a scientist in the Stanley Center who is also director of Vigil Neuroscience, said in the release. “Findings like this help us learn what mediates the synapse loss and cognitive decline that is devastating for patients and their families.” Repurposing complement inhibitors to see whether they are effective against neurodegenerative diseases is already in development—for example, Elixiron Immunotherapeutics is testing its CSF1R inhibitor in Alzheimer’s. The work “bolsters the therapeutic strategy of inhibiting the complement pathway, which could one day improve symptoms for patients with neurodegenerative or neuroinflammatory disorders.” “Overall, our study identifies Nptx2 as a neuronal synaptic CCP inhibitor,” the researchers concluded in their study. “Elevating Nptx2 expression might be a viable therapeutic strategy to curb complement overactivation and subsequent neuronal damage in FTD, AD and other neuroinflammatory diseases.”

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elixiron Immunotherapeutics, a clinical stage drug development company announced today that it has received a new grant from the Alzheimer's Association Part the Cloud program to accelerate the application of EI-1071, a novel orally-administered immunomodulatory therapy for people with Alzheimer's disease. This follows the successful completion of a first-in-human phase 1 study that was also made possible in part thanks to an earlier Alzheimer's Association Part the Cloud-Bill Gates Partnership program grant. "It is an honor to have won this highly-competitive award from the Alzheimer's Association and the recognition that regulating microglia, the brain's immune cells, is a promising therapeutic approach to treat Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Hung-Kai Chen, Elixiron's Chief Executive Officer, who is also the Principal Investigator for the grant. "This is an important milestone for us, concluding years of work on our innovative therapeutic development, including testing in animals and healthy human subjects." Elixiron's EI-1071 aims to inhibit microglia-mediated neuroinflammation to protect against neuronal damage — activated microglia secrete inflammatory cytokines that damage neurons and exacerbate Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathologies. The new phase 2 trial will provide the first assessment of EI-1071 in AD patients with PET imaging using a tracer as a method to monitor neuroinflammation, which is anticipated to be reduced by EI-1071. "The phase 1 trial established that EI-1071 was relatively safe, and we anticipate initiating the phase 2 trial with AD patients in early 2023," said Carrie Duan, Executive Vice President of Clinical Development. "If successful, this trial will support the advancement of a large-scale trial to see if EI-1071 can halt disease progression, to maintain cognitive function." "Part the Cloud prides itself on diversifying the Alzheimer's therapeutic pipeline by funding novel and innovative ideas, so it's exciting when we see those therapies — such as EI-1071 — show promise in early-stage clinical trials," said Heather Snyder, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association vice president of medical and scientific relations. "Through a second grant, the Alzheimer's Association is excited to propel this treatment avenue into a phase 2 study, and we look forward to the results of that trial." About Elixiron Immunotherapeutics Elixiron Immunotherapeutics is driven by an international team with a shared vision to produce next-generation immunotherapies for unmet needs in immunological and degenerative diseases. Besides EI-1071, Elixiron has an interferon-gamma-neutralizing antibody currently in a phase 1 trial that is being developed for the treatment of vitiligo and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and several other earlier-stage candidates. For more information, visit elixiron.com and follow the company on Linkedin. About the Alzheimer's Association® and Part the Cloud The Alzheimer's Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900. To learn more about the Part the Cloud program, visit alz.org/partthecloud. Contact: Janie Chu Email: media@elixiron.com This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.