Neurology

Biomedical/pharma, Immunology, Neurology

Muna Therapeutics is developing transformative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. These drugs aim to preserve cognition and enhance the brain’s resilience in diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, providing much-needed hope for millions of patients and their loved ones.
Agomab Therapeutics NV (‘Agomab’) today announced the closing of a $100 million (€94.9 million) Series C financing round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, with participation from new investors EQT Life Sciences (EQT), Canaan, Dawn Biopharma, a platform controlled by KKR, and existing investors.
Byteflies is on a mission to make virtual care available to all. The Belgian company has developed a platform for remote patient monitoring solutions, to save precious time for healthcare providers, reduce hospitalization costs, and boost the quality of life for patients. The aim is to aid the transition from fragmented to connected healthcare, enabling a continuum of care through virtual solutions.
Coave Therapeutics is a French biotech developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative and ocular diseases. The company has developed a technology platform that can be used to redecorate the outer surface of viruses, creating gene therapy vectors that are better at accurately delivering healthy genes to the right target cells, including neurons in the deep brain tissue. By combining this vector technology with transgenes restoring natural cell cleaning pathways, the company has created a pipeline of therapies for both genetically and non-genetically defined neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Dr. Monica Bennett is Head of Gene Therapy Unit at Novartis, the company behind the world’s only gene therapy approved for a neurological indication. Zolgensma treats children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic condition where infants with the most severe type rarely survive past their first few years of life. We spoke to Dr. Bennett about her experience working with SMA kids and their families, and the inspiring potential of gene therapy in other neurological diseases.
Augustine Therapeutics is a VIB and KU Leuven spin-off developing innovative therapies for peripheral and central nervous system disorders. The company initially focused on treating Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and recently added a major indication to their lead program after finding strong evidence that their drug candidate can also reverse nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. Augustine Therapeutics aims to initiate clinical trials by 2024.
Leuven, Belgium, 10 May 2022 – Augustine Therapeutics, a biotech company developing novel therapies for neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders, appoints Gerhard Koenig as Chairman of the Board. The company also expands the Scientific Advisory Board with clinical experts to support broader therapeutic applications, exploring the potential of novel HDAC6 inhibitors in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and now also in other indications such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Abscint is one of several Belgian biotech companies using single-domain antibodies. But unlike the others, Abscint is using these antibodies for diagnostic purposes instead of therapeutic ones. After being labelled with a miniscule amount of radioactive material, the antibodies can be used to show on PET/CT scans for example whether breast cancer cells have spread to the brain, or if patients with sarcoidosis are at risk of a sudden cardiac arrest. The company, founded in 2020, is currently looking for funding to bring its solutions to the market as soon as possible.
Confo Therapeutics is a rising star in Belgium, featured on several local and international lists of up-and-coming biotechs. The company, launched in 2015 as a spin-off of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and VIB, is now taking the big step from the preclinical to the clinical stage with a GPCR drug for neuropathic pain.