Huntington's disease therapy developer BrainVectis, a spinout of research institute Inserm, has been acquired having disclosed just $1m of equity funding in 2016.
BrainVectis, a France-based gene therapy developer spun out of research institute Inserm, was acquired by its peer Asklepios Biopharmaceutical (AskBio) today for an undisclosed sum.
The deal marks the first exit for Satt Erganeo, the regional tech transfer office that helped set up BrainVectis.
BrainVectis has devised an approach to revive cholesterol metabolism in the brain as a means of treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s disease, a fatal inherited condition that progressively damages neurological function.
The spinout’s approach focuses on increased expression of an enzyme called CYP46A1, linked to multiple indications where depleted brain cholesterol is implicated.
AskBio will now add BrainVectis’s programs, including lead candidate BV-CYP01, to its portfolio of potential gene therapies for rare diseases and other genetic disorders.
The firm will maintain BrainVectis’s office in Paris, and intends to drive progress using its biotechnology and manufacturing resources.
BV-CYP01 has shown promise in animal models of Huntington’s disease, and received orphan drug designation from the European Commission in April 2019.
BrainVectis previously closed a €1m ($1.1m) series A round in 2016 according to media reports, however the investors were not identified.
Inserm, Sorbonne University and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission have all at some stage provided early-stage funding and support.
