Progentos Therapeutics, a Watertown, MA-based biotech company addressing the need to regenerate myelin and restore function for patients with Multiple Sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases, closed a $65m series A funding round.
The round was led by Forbion which was joined by Alta Partners, Mission BioCapital, Longwood Fund, and Dolby Family Ventures.
This funding will enable the company to advance its MS program through human proof of concept studies and expand its pipeline in additional degenerative diseases.
Led by Dr. Chris Loose, CEO, Progentos is developing first-in-class small molecules designed to induce remyelination of axons affected by MS. In MS, disability is caused by demyelination, damage to the myelin sheaths that support the function and survival of axons. The company’s proprietary molecules outperform previous approaches in differentiating oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to generate new oligodendrocytes and regenerate myelin in in vivo models.
Progentos will have operations in Watertown, MA, USA and Naarden, The Netherlands.