US-based rare and age-related disease therapy developer Aeovian Pharmaceuticals has completed a $37m series A financing round that included drug discovery services provider Evotec.
Life sciences-focused investment firms Sofinnova Investments and VenBio Partners co-led the round, which also featured geroscience-focused venture capital firm Apollo Health Ventures.
Founded to exploit research conducted at Buck Institute of Novato, California, Aeovian is working on drugs for rare and age-related diseases using a selective inhibitor of the mTORC1 protein complex.
The series A proceeds will help Aeovian conclude preclinical development of its lead asset, AE116, ahead of clinical proof-of-concept activities targeting an unspecified central nervous system disorder.
VenBio principal Richard Gaster and Mike Powell, managing general partner at Sofinnova Investments, will join the company’s board of directors while VenBio vice-president Yvonne Yamanaka and Sofinnova principal Sarah Bhagat are taking board observer positions.
Aeovian was co-founded by Evotec and Apollo Health Ventures, after a drug discovery pact signed by the duo in 2017 led to AE116’s identification as a therapeutic candidate.
Apollo’s board seat is held by managing partner Jens Eckstein, who joined in July 2019 after eight years as president of SR One, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.