AltPep Corporation – a privately-held biotechnology company developing early disease-modifying treatments and detection tools for amyloid diseases – recently announced the completion of a $52.9 million Series B financing round. The funding was led by Senator Investment Group, LP, with participation from new financial investors, Section 32, Korea-based Partners Investment, and Eli Lilly and Company. The investors in AltPep’s Series A, including Alexandria Venture Investments and Matrix Capital Management Company, LP, also participated in Series B.
The proceeds from the round will primarily be used to accelerate AltPep’s SOBIN™ therapeutics into Phase 1 clinical trials for both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Funds will also be used to advance AltPep’s first SOBA diagnostic, which has FDA Breakthrough Designation, toward FDA clearance. In connection with the financing, Rohit Vanjani of Senator Investment Group will be appointed to AltPep’s Board of Directors, and Ronald DeMattos, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, and Chief Scientific Officer for Neurobiologicals at Lilly, will join AltPep’s Scientific Advisory Board.
AltPep’s lead programs are aiming to identify Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease before symptoms occur with SOBA diagnostics and then neutralize the toxic oligomers associated with these diseases with SOBIN therapeutics. And the current technologies and experimental treatments focus on downstream symptoms or other markers that are only detectable once the damage has occurred. The SOBA diagnostics are sensitive, simple blood tests in development to aid in the early diagnosis of amyloid diseases. AltPep has received Breakthrough Designation from the FDA for its SOBA blood-based assay for Alzheimer’s disease.
KEY QUOTES:
“This new funding bolsters our efforts to bring early detection and treatment to patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. AltPep continues to reach significant milestones, including recent preclinical in vivo data demonstrating an improvement in cognitive deficits with our lead compound for Alzheimer’s disease. Also, our SOBA assay targeting toxic oligomers, which are early molecular triggers of disease, shows great potential for detection of Alzheimer’s disease (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213157119). We are thrilled to have the support of our former and new investors, and we look forward to working closely with both Dr. DeMattos and Rohit Vanjani.”
— Valerie Daggett, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of AltPep
“We believe AltPep is in an excellent position to optimize the value of its unique technology. With scientific application for both therapeutics and diagnostics in a wide range of amyloid diseases, the potential for the company’s pipeline is vast and extremely promising. I am excited to be joining the AltPep Board of Directors and working with their experienced leadership team.”
— Rohit Vanjani
“Selective targeting of molecular triggers early in the progression of amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, differentiates AltPep’s approach from other current and experimental options in the field. AltPep’s novel technology has the potential to profoundly and positively affect both disease treatment as well as detection. We are pleased to provide support that will advance this important work for patients suffering from amyloid diseases.”
— Michael Pellini, M.D., Managing Partner of Section 32
