Rewind Therapeutics, a Belgium-based developer of treatments for myelin-related diseases, completed a €15.2m ($18.3m) series A round yesterday that was co-led by subsidiaries of pharmaceutical firms Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck Group.
Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Merck Ventures co-led the round with PMV, an investment firm owned by the Flemish government.
KU Leuven, the university from which Rewind spun out, took part in the round through its Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3) as well as KU Leuven Gemma Frisius Fonds, the seed-stage investment fund it formed with KBC Private Equity and BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity.
Founded by CD3 and research services provider Axxam, Rewind is working on small-molecule drugs that will combat diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) which are caused by a deficiency of myelin, a substance that forms an electrically insulating layer in some nerve cells.
The funding will go to advancing Rewind’s first small-molecule drug candidate into clinical trials, and to grow its pipeline of potential treatments for myelin-related diseases.