Neurona Therapeutics Inc., a South San Francisco, CA-based biotechnology company focused on the transplantation of selected neurons to treat intractable neurological diseases, launched with a $23.5m Series A financing.
The round was led by The Column Group.
Led by Tim Kutzkey, interim Chief Executive Officer, and a Partner at The Column Group, Neurona is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company focused on regenerative cell-based therapeutics to treat intractable neurological disease. It focused on unique compositions of cells that can be precisely targeted, integrated into damaged neural circuits, and provide activity-dependent regulation.
The company is founded by neuroscientists and stem cell pioneers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) including:
– Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, Heather and Melanie Muss Endowed Chair and Principal Investigator in the Brain Tumor Research Center
– Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, John Bowes Distinguished Professor in Stem Cell and Tissue Biology and the Department of Neurology, and Founding Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research
– John Rubenstein, MD, PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry at the Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology
– Cory Nicholas, PhD, VP of Research at Neurona Therapeutics and Assistant Professor (Adjunct) in the Department of Neurology at UCSF.
The Board of Directors includes:
Tim Kutzkey, PhD, interim Chief Executive Officer of Neurona and Partner at The Column Group;
David Goeddel, PhD, Managing Partner at The Column Group;
Leo Guthart, PhD, Founder and Senior Advisor at Topspin Partners;
Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, Co-Founder, Professor of Neurology and Director of the stem cell center at UCSF; and
Stephen Hauser, MD, Chair of Neurology at UCSF.
FinSMEs
01/12/2015