Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals AG extends Series A financing

HBM Healthcare’s CHF14m investment brings Polyneuron Pharmaceuticals AG’s Series A round to a total of CHF 36.5m. Upon the financing, Dr Emil Bujak from HBM Healthcare Investments joined Polyneuron’s Board of Directors.

Polyneuron said it will use the proceeds to advance its lead product candidate PN-1007, an experimental treatment for anti-MAG neuropathy through Phase I/IIa clinical development. Clinical studies with PN-1007 in patients are scheduled to start this year. Furthermore, the company will also advance PN-1018 to IND. PN-1018 is being studied in Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Multifocal Motor Neuropathy. Polyneuron will also use the proceeds to accelerate preclinical development of its Antibody-Catch™ product portfolio in new indications, with a focus on antibody-mediated renal and hematological diseases.

Polyneuron uses antigen-specific carbohydrate polymers to target antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases. The company’s Antibody-Catch™ platform allows for the chemical design of injectable biodegradable, high-molecular weight glycopolymers that offer multiple epitope-mimics to the autoantibodies. As a result, the drug serves as a decoy for the autoantibody, which gets sequestered and eliminated from the body, while leaving the rest of the immune system intact. Polyneuron is a 2014 spin-out from University of Basel’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.