Sofinnova backs Asceneuron’s CHF 30m series-A

Founding investor MS Ventures also participated in the round.

Representatives from each of the new investors have joined the company's board of directors.

The fresh capital will be used to further develop an oral treatment for tauopathies, a group of neurodegenerative diseases that includes several orphan conditions.

French VC Sofinnova focuses on life sciences. The firm has €1.3bn in funds under management. In March 2015, it backed the IPO of its portfolio company Cerenis Therapeutics, which develops therapies based on the metabolism of cholesterol.

Previous funding
Asceneuron received €5m in seed funding from Merck Serono Ventures in 2012.

Company
Asceneuron researches and develops oral small-molecule therapeutics targeting tauopathies for treating progressive supranuclear palsy, other related neurodegenerative diseases and Alzheimer's disease. The company, which is based in Lausanne, was founded in 2012 as part of the Entrepreneur Partnership Program from MS Ventures, supporting spin-offs from Merck Serono.

People
Dirk Beher is CEO of Asceneuron. Henrijette Richter is a partner at Sofinnova. Hakan Goker is a senior investment director at MS Ventures.

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