Express sword refers to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, Xinrui receives 85 million US dollars in assistance

▎Editor of WuXi AppTec's content team On September 14, 2021, Vanqua Bio announced the completion of a US$85 million Series B financing
.

The funds obtained in this round of financing will be used to advance the development of innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD), Gaucher disease (GD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
.

Vanqua Bio's drug development method overcomes the long-standing challenges in neuroscience by using the power of human genetics to identify genes that cause or increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases
.

The company builds an in vitro disease model based on nerve cells generated from patient tissues and uses it for drug screening, transforming gene-based insights into transformative therapies
.

The company's pilot project focuses on the development of small molecule activators of glucocerebrosidase (GCase)
.

GCase is an enzyme that regulates lipid homeostasis in cells
.

The reduction of GCase activity destroys the function of the lysosome, the recycling center of the cell, and leads to the aggregation of toxic proteins including α-synuclein, thereby harming neurons
.

The aggregation of alpha-synuclein is one of the hallmarks of many neurodegenerative diseases, including PD
.

Mutations in the GBA1 gene encoding GCase may cause Gaucher disease and are significantly associated with a subtype of Parkinson's disease called GBA-PD and certain Lewy body dementias (GBA-LBD)
.

▲Vanqua Bio's R&D pipeline (picture source: Vanqua Bio's official website) This round of financing will promote the company's potential "best-in-class" GCase activator into human trials in the next two years, initially aimed at treating Gaucher disease And GBA-PD
.

In addition to its GCase activator project, Vanqua Bio will also promote a project for the innate immune system, which can accelerate the progress of several neurological diseases when the system is over-activated
.

The company is advancing small molecule and antisense oligonucleotide projects, initially focusing on Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
.

Dr.
Jim Sullivan, co-founder and CEO of Vanqua Bio, said: "Vanqua Bio is helping people with neurodegenerative diseases usher in a new era
.

Our vision is to develop products that can effectively slow or stop Parkinson’s disease, Gaucher’s disease, Innovative treatments for the progression of Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
.

"Reference: [1] Vanqua Bio Launches with $85 Million Series B Financing and a Mission to Vanquish Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https:// /2296510/0/en/Vanqua-Bio-Launches-with-85-Million-Series-B-Financing-and-a-Mission-to-Vanquish-Neurodegenerative-Diseases.
html[2] Vanqua Bio snags $85M series B to vanquish Parkinson's, Gaucher, ALS and Alzheimer's.
Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https:// -als-and-alzheimer-s disclaimer: WuXi AppTec's content team focuses on introducing global biomedical health research progress
.

This article is for information exchange purposes only.
The views in the article do not represent WuXi AppTec's position, nor does it represent WuXi AppTec's support or Object to the views
in the
article .
This article is not a treatment plan recommendation
.

If you need treatment plan guidance, please go to a regular hospital
.