Prosensa, a Leiden, The Netherlands-based biopharmaceutical company focusing on RNA-modulating therapeutics for rare diseases with high unmet needs, has raised €23m in new equity financing.
The round was led by new investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from existing investors Abingworth, Life Sciences Partners, Gimv, Idinvest Partners and MedSciences Capital.
In conjunction with the funding, David Mott, General Partner of NEA, will join Prosensa’s Supervisory Board.
The company intends to use the funding to advance its portfolio of RNA-modulating therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1) and Huntington’s disease (HD).
Led by CEO Hans Schikan, Prosensa has an advanced portfolio of drug candidates for DMD, with two compounds in clinical trials in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (PRO051/GSK2402968 and PRO044) and four additional compounds in preclinical development, as well as preclinical compounds for DM1 and HD. The company’s DMD compounds are based on its proprietary exon-skipping technology that uses antisense oligonucleotides to restore expression of a functional dystrophin protein and to provide potential treatment for patients affected by this progressively debilitating neuromuscular disease.
FinSMEs
25/01/2012