LoQus23 Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK-based private biotechnology company investigating small molecule drugs, raised £35M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Forbion, alongside existing investors SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and Novartis Venture Fund (NVF). Forbion General Partner Rogier Rooswinkel will join LoQus23’s Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds for the pre-clinical development and initial clinical studies of its lead program, an allosteric small molecule MutSβ inhibitor.
Led by Dr David Reynolds, Dr Caroline Benn, and Dr Ruth McKernan, LoQus23 is a biotech company developing small molecule somatic expansion inhibitors for the treatment of Huntington’s Disease* and other triplet repeat disorders. Its approach has the potential to stop DNA instability and therefore slow neurodegeneration in these diseases. The company is focused on using a structure-based approach to design small molecule drugs, which can offer more convenient administration than other approaches. The company is preparing its lead program to enter the clinic in 2026.
*Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder for which there is currently no disease modifying treatment available and which currently has 30,000 patients in the US alone.
LoQus23 was originally established in 2019 by Dr David Reynolds, Dr Caroline Benn, and Dr Ruth McKernan CBE, FMedSci, Entrepreneurs in Residence at SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund.
FinSMEs
02/10/2024