Passage Bio will develop therapies for diseases affecting the central nervous system based on research by James Wilson at Penn, after raising almost $116m in a series A round.
Passage Bio, a US-based company developing treatments for neurological diseases based on research at University of Pennsylvania, has received $115.5m in a series A round that included Lilly Asia Ventures, an investment vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
The round was led by OrbiMed and included fellow healthcare investment firm Vivo Capital as well as venture capital firms Frazier Healthcare Partners, Versant Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners.
Passage Bio is developing five drug candidates that are intended to treat diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS).
The company has signed a research, collaboration and license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania, its Gene Therapy Program and the Penn Orphan Disease Center with the support of Passage Bio co-founder and chief scientific adviser James Wilson, professor in the Perelman School of Medicine.
The company’s lead programs included a treatment for GM1 gangliosidosis, a disease caused when the absence of the beta-galactosidase enzyme leads to nerve cells in the brain being destroyed, and a treatment for frontotemporal dementia, a type of dementia that affects the front and sides of the brain.
Stephen Squinto, Passage Bio’s co-founder and interim chief executive, said: “Passage Bio’s development portfolio presents an unparalleled opportunity to transform the lives of patients with rare monogenic CNS diseases.
“We look forward to continuing progress in this exciting field of therapeutics and advancing our lead programs in GM1 gangliosidosis and frontotemporal dementia into the clinic in early 2020.”
Fellow co-founder Tachi Yamada is acting as chairman. Both Squinto and Yamada are venture partners at Frazier Healthcare Partners.
Carl Gordon, a managing partner at OrbiMed, has joined the company’s board of directors along with Patrick Heron, a managing general partner at Frazier Healthcare, and Versant Ventures managing director Tom Woiwode.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
