Rewind records $18.3m series A

Rewind Therapeutics, a Belgium-based biopharmaceutical spinout from KU Leuven, closed a €15.2m ($18.3m) series A round yesterday co-led by two university-backed vehicles.

KU Leuven invested through investment fund Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), an investment fund established with the EU-owned European Investment Fund, and seed capital fund Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF).

GFF is run in partnership with KBC Private Equity and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, respective private equity arms of financial services firms KBC Group and BNP Paribas.

The round was also co-led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, the corporate venturing subsidiary of drug manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Ventures, the venturing arm of healthcare group Merck, and PMV, an investment firm owned by the Flemish government.

Founded by CD3 and research services provider Axxam, Rewind is working on drugs to tackle debilitating conditions of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, that are caused by disruptions to a fatty nerve-insulating substance called myelin.

While today’s myelin-restoration drugs aim to control the symptoms and slow the progress of the disease, Rewind hopes its small molecule-based treatments will reverse deterioration by restoring myelin more effectively.

The cash will be used to advance Rewind’s initial drug candidate through clinical trials and to prepare additional therapies for myelin disorders.