Tetra Discovery Partners, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based designer of new therapeutics for major neurological conditions based on PDE4 modulation in the brain, closed a $1,041,000 seed funding round.
The investment, which was led by Grand Angels, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based investment group, includes funding from the Biosciences Research & Commercialization Center (BRCC), the Michigan PreSeed Capital Fund and the Michigan Emerging Technology Fund as a match to the recent $3m Phase II SBIR award Tetra received from the National Institute of Mental Health.
The company intends to use the funds to develop an innovative drug to treat cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s disease, and a second drug to treat depression and restore cognitive function in patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Led by Mark Gurney, Ph.D., founder and CEO, Tetra focuses on developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), depression and traumatic brain injury (TBI). It designes drugs that inhibit phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), a key enzyme in the brain that controls the biochemical process of memory research. The company works with the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network, a $50m program across 15 NIH Institutes and centers that support drug discovery research collaborations with early stage biotechnology companies and academics to develop effective therapeutics for nervous system disorders.
FinSMEs
30/09/2013