• Tetra Discovery

  Led · Series A · Nov 2016

  Tetra Discovery Partners is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that discovers mechanistically novel, allosteric inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) using structure-guided drug design. Its portfolio targets Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders and includes BPN14770, which is in a Phase 1 multiple-ascending dose study in healthy older (age 60+) volunteers. The company reported receipt of two NIH grants: a $2.0M Phase 2b SBIR grant (AG054243) supporting the BPN14770 study and a $3.0M grant (MH091791) supporting its depression discovery program. Financially, Tetra raised $5.0M in Series A venture funding, with conversion of two debt rounds bringing total Series A financing to $7.27M. The Series A was co-led by the Apjohn Group and Grand Angels, with participation from Dolby Family Ventures, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation and other private investors. Donald R. Parfet of Apjohn Group joined Tetra’s Board of Directors following the financing. The company is led by Chairman and CEO Mark E. Gurney, Ph.D., and is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a business office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tetra Discovery Partners is developing a platform of drug products to treat cognitive impairment, targeting a family of enzymes known as Type 4 phosphodiesterases (PDE4). Its lead candidate targets PDE4D and is being developed for cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia, with potential application for Huntington’s disease. The company is led by CEO and founder Dr. Mark Gurney. Tetra is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It closed a $1M funding round to accelerate development and prepare for clinical trials planned for Fall 2015. The financing signals early-stage support from regional angel and commercialization investors as the company moves toward first-in-human studies. Tetra Discovery Partners uses structure-guided drug design to discover mechanistically novel, allosteric inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4). Its research focuses on developing treatments for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The company intends to use the newly raised funds to support additional work aimed at filing its first Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a cognition drug candidate in 2015. Tetra maintains a business office at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is led by Chairman and CEO Mark Gurney, Ph.D. It is a recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network cooperative research agreement, part of a $50 million program across 15 NIH Institutes and Centers. The company also announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board composed of senior industry R&D and neuroscience leaders. Tetra Discovery Partners is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company that designs new therapeutics for major neurological conditions by modulating phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) in the brain. Led by founder and CEO Mark Gurney, Ph.D., Tetra develops PDE4 inhibitors aimed at treating Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), depression and cognitive deficits from traumatic brain injury (TBI). The company intends to use recent seed funding to advance an innovative drug for cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s and a second program targeting depression and cognitive restoration after TBI. Tetra works with the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network, a $50m program across 15 NIH institutes and centers that supports drug discovery collaborations with early-stage biotechnology companies and academics. Financially, Tetra closed a $1,041,000 seed round and recently received a $3m Phase II SBIR award from the National Institute of Mental Health. The SBIR award was matched by funding from the Biosciences Research & Commercialization Center, the Michigan PreSeed Capital Fund and the Michigan Emerging Technology Fund.

No current team members are available.