Arkuda Therapeutics gets $64m booster to advance neurodegenerative treatment

Arkuda Therapeutics, a US-based biotechnology company, has raised $64 million in Series B financing.

The new funding will help Arkuda Therapeutics boost the production of medicines that treat neurodegenerative diseases caused by the biological dysfunction of progranulin, a protein known to play a key role in lysosomal function and innate immunity in the brain.

Arkuda Therapeutics is planning to develop neurodegenerative disease therapeutic compounds by applying insights from lysosomal and microglial biology domains.

Gerhard Koenig — Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Arkuda Therapeutics said: “This Series B funding marks a critical milestone as we advance our first-in-class lead progranulin enhancer program to IND-enabling studies and expand our pipeline of programs targeting lysosomal dysfunction, which is a key driver of many neurodegenerative diseases.

“The patients we aspire to serve are in great need of therapeutic options, and this financing will enable us to accelerate our efforts to turn the promise of our emerging understanding of lysosomal biology into effective medicines with the potential to positively impact the trajectory of their disease.”

The financing was co-led by Pivotal bioVenture Partners and Cormorant Asset Management. Surveyor Capital, which is a Citadel company, pharma giant Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) and Arkuda Therapeutics’ existing investors Pfizer Ventures, Atlas Venture, Mission BioCapital, and funds managed by Tekla Capital Management also took part in the Series B funding round.

Raymond J. Kelleher — Managing Director at Cormorant Asset Management said: “We are excited to support Arkuda in their pathbreaking work to address progranulin deficiency and lysosomal dysfunction, which is increasingly recognized as key driver of neurodegeneration.”

Raymond J. Kelleher, and Heather Preston, MD, Managing Partner at Pivotal bioVenture Partners, have been newly appointed members of the Board of Directors of Arkuda Therapeutics.

In November 2019, Arkuda Therapeutics raised $44 million in Series A financing.

Arkuda Therapeutics is also exploring the therapeutic potential of its molecules in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s wherein genetically linked biological dysfunction of progranulin has been established.