Passage Bio, a US-based company developing treatments for neurological diseases, has received approximately $116m in a series A round that included Lilly Asia Ventures, an investment vehicle for pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
The round was led by OrbiMed and included fellow healthcare investment firm Vivo Capital as well as venture capital firms Frazier Healthcare Partners, Versant Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners.
Passage Bio is developing five drug candidates that are intended to treat diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS), and has signed a research, collaboration and license agreement with the University of Pennsylvania.
The company’s lead programs included a treatment for GM1 gangliosidosis, a disease caused when the absence of the beta-galactosidase enzyme leads to nerve cells in the brain being destroyed, and a treatment for frontotemporal dementia, a type of dementia that affects the front and sides of the brain.
Stephen Squinto, Passage Bio’s co-founder and interim chief executive, said: “Passage Bio’s development portfolio presents an unparalleled opportunity to transform the lives of patients with rare monogenic CNS diseases.
“We look forward to continuing progress in this exciting field of therapeutics and advancing our lead programs in GM1 gangliosidosis and frontotemporal dementia into the clinic in early 2020.”
Carl Gordon, a managing partner at OrbiMed, has joined the company’s board of directors along with Patrick Heron, a managing general partner at Frazier Healthcare, and Versant Ventures managing director Tom Woiwode.