The Icelandic drug discovery firm Arctic Therapeutics, which is pioneering new treatments for dementia, has raised €26.5m in investment to advance its work.
The new funding will enable the exploration of the potential of AT-001, an oral treatment designed to prevent the aggregation of harmful amyloid proteins in the brain, in other forms of familial dementia, and eventually Alzheimer’s disease.
Last year, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved a pivotal clinical trial evaluating AT-001 for the treatment of Hereditary Cystatin C Amyloid Angiopathy (HCCAA), a rare form of familial dementia. Arctic is also applying its work to skin conditions.
Co-founder and CEO Ivar Hakonarson said: “Recent advances in understanding the role of amyloid proteins and the critical importance of preventing and dissolving plaque formation in the brain underscore the transformative potential of our approach to significantly slow or even prevent these devastating diseases.
“This funding represents a critical milestone in our journey to address significant unmet medical needs, from familial forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s to novel treatments for inflammatory skin diseases.
“The new investors bring expertise and strategic value to the table, enabling us to accelerate the development of groundbreaking treatments.”
The series A funding came from a range of international sources, including the EIC Fund, Iceland’s largest privately-held investment firm Kaldbakur, Investcorp-backed Sanos Group, Swiss-based Cerebrum DAO, The Lurie Family Foundation – established by US billionaire Jeffery Lurie – as well as a consortium led by early investors and co-founders of Icelandic unicorn, Kerecis, and Copenhagen-listed Chemometec.
