E-Scape Bio, a San Francisco, CA-based biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to treat neurodegenerative diseases, closed an extension of its Series A financing bringing the total amount raised in the round to $63m.
New investors include Lilly Asia Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures. The original investment was led by OrbiMed, with participation from Novo Holding A/S, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc. (JJDC), Novartis Venture Fund and Osage University Partners.
Co-founded by Robert Mahley, M.D., Ph.D., and Yadong Huang, M.D., Ph.D., from the Gladstone Institutes, E-Scape Bio is developing small-molecule drugs that target the inherited genetic drivers of neurodegenerative disorders and correct the dysfunctional proteins at the root of the disease. The lead program targets the Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) protein structure — a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
E-Scape Bio is built on their pioneering research to understand the role of Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) in the nervous system, and linking ApoE4—a variant of ApoE—to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
The company is led by Leon Chen, Ph.D., interim chief executive officer.
FinSMEs
12/07/2017