NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, a US-based biotechnology company backed by pharmaceutical firms Shire and Mérieux, has closed a $27m series D round after securing $10m from undisclosed investors.
The company initally raised $17m in March 2014 from Shire and Mérieux Développement, the healthcare investment unit of bioresearch corporation Institut Mérieux, in the first tranche of the round.
Mérieux and Shire previously invested $6.4m in NeuroPhage’s 2013 series C round, after funding its $21.4m series B in 2012. The company’s $7m series A round was backed by Nanga Investments and other undisclosed investors in 2008.
NeuroPhage develops treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. It will use the funding to advance its lead drug candidate, NPT088, into a Phase 1 clinical trial for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s by the end of 2015.
The funding will also support research and development for additional drug candidates.