Gliacure closes $5.8m series B

Gliacure, a spin-out of Tufts University, has closed its series B round at $5.8m. Investors in the round remain undisclosed, but include a range of private investors and high net-worth individuals.

The round exceeded the company’s goal of $5m and puts total funds at $8.55m. The spin-out previously raised $2.75m in a 2012 series A round.

Gliacure is working on treatments for various neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders of the brain. It holds an exclusive license from Tufts for a compound codenamed GC021109 and the related technology. The compound is currently being developed as a drug candidate for Alzheimer’s, with the company aiming for a clinical trial by the third quarter of 2014. Apart from Alzheimer’s, the compound also has potential applications for diseases such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

A treatment for Alzheimer’s is becoming increasingly important, with the number of 65-year-olds and older affected by the disease expected to triple by 2050. Currently, some 5.2 million people are suffering from the disease, which could rise to 16 million by mid-century. There is currently no preventative drug or cure available, and the five drugs on the US market are only able to slow progression temporarily.

Phil Haydon, president and co-founder at Gliacure, said: “It will allow us to push forward aggressively with our development programme, particularly in Alzheimer’s disease.”