Leal Therapeutics, a biotech company working on new treatments for disorders affecting the central nervous system, has raised $30 million in Series A funding. This investment is led by SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, with support from several other investors including OrbiMed, Newpath Partners, Chugai Venture Fund, Euclidean Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and PhiFund. This money will be used to move their main drug candidate, LTX-001, through clinical trials for schizophrenia. LTX-001 is an oral medication that can reach the brain and works by reducing excess glutamate, which is done by blocking an enzyme called glutaminase.
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The funding will also help get LTX-002 into early clinical studies for ALS. LTX-002 is an antisense oligonucleotide that targets overactive ceramide and sphingolipid production by stopping the SPTLC1 enzyme. Both of these projects are based on Leal’s approach of targeting neuro-metabolic issues that play a role in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Leal’s pipeline also includes LTX-007, a small molecule SPT inhibitor that is being developed for a range of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS, and certain inherited sphingolipidoses. The company is also working on new ways to deliver nucleic acid-based drugs across the blood-brain barrier using proprietary antibody-like shuttle systems.
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Asa Abeliovich, M.D., Ph.D., the founder and CEO of Leal, said the investment shows strong confidence in the company’s science and its mission to develop new treatments for patients who don’t have many options. He stressed the importance of moving their first-in-class drugs toward important clinical achievements.
Leal believes that fixing metabolic issues in the brain can lead to a new generation of treatments for diseases that have not had much progress. With the new funding, Christian Jung, Ph.D., a Partner at SV Health Investors, has joined the company’s board. He is hopeful about the potential for Leal to bring meaningful innovation to neuroscience.
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