Asceneuron is a clinical-stage biotech based in Lausanne, Switzerland, developing orally bioavailable small molecules that target tau protein aggregation for debilitating neurodegenerative disorders. The company’s lead assets include two clinical-stage OGA inhibitors: ASN90 (licensed to Ferrer Pharmaceuticals) for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and ASN51 for Alzheimer’s disease. Asceneuron intends to use new funding to advance ASN51 into Phase 2 clinical development for Alzheimer’s. It is also planning to advance its pre-clinical pipeline in Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative indications. The company is led by CEO Barbara Angehrn Pavik. Asceneuron is a clinical-stage biotech focused on orally bioavailable therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and orphan tauopathies. Its lead program ASN120290 is an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor being developed for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and the company is developing a next-generation O-GlcNAcase inhibitor, ASN51, to target Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. O-GlcNAcase inhibitors prevent the removal of intracellular protein glycosylation and are being pursued to address proteinopathies and disturbed neuronal network function, with potential disease-modifying and symptomatic benefits. Following a USD 2.2 million award from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Asceneuron will advance ASN51 into first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trials. The funding will enable a single ascending dose arm and a PET target engagement study in healthy volunteers, with assessments of safety, tolerability and multiple biomarkers in healthy subjects and Alzheimer’s patients. The Phase 1 study will be conducted at sites in Europe and Australia, is due to kick off in Q2, and expects first interim data in Q3 2021. Asceneuron develops orally bioavailable small molecules targeting neurodegenerative disorders including orphan tauopathies, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. The company’s lead program is an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor that in preclinical studies has been shown to modulate tau pathology and is completing regulatory studies to enable human clinical testing for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Asceneuron is also advancing positive allosteric modulators of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1 PAMs) to potentiate cholinergic signaling and support cognition. A grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Therapeutic Pipeline Program will fund optimization studies to provide preclinical proof of concept for the M1 PAM program. The company reports it has identified suitable lead molecules and will leverage its expertise in muscarinic receptor and CNS drug development to progress them. Asceneuron is led by CEO and co-founder Dirk Beher and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland; it is financed by a syndicate of institutional investors. Asceneuron is a Lausanne, Switzerland–based biotech spun out via MS Ventures in 2012 that researches and develops orally bioavailable small-molecule therapeutics targeting tauopathies. The company’s lead program is ASN-561, an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor that in preclinical studies has been shown to modulate tau pathology and has entered regulatory studies to enable human clinical testing. Asceneuron aims to advance ASN-561 into clinical proof-of-concept studies in the orphan tauopathy progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The company was founded by Dirk Beher (CEO) and Christoph Wiessner (COO) as part of an Entrepreneur Partnership Program supporting spin-offs from Merck Serono. The business intends to use the new funding to develop ASN-561 up to the completion of a pivotal proof-of-concept trial in PSP. The program is positioned as a potential first oral treatment for tauopathies, which include several orphan conditions.

Total raised

$133M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Jul 2024