CereCura Secures $1.4 Million to Revolutionize Brain Disorder Treatments

CereCura Nanotherapeutics, a pre-clinical biotech startup based in Vancouver, has successfully secured $1.4 million CAD in seed funding to advance its innovative approach to treating neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The company aims to utilize the same technology that facilitated the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines to overcome the challenges posed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a significant hurdle in the treatment of brain diseases.

Founded as a spin-off from the University of British Columbia (UBC), CereCura has already demonstrated its capability to effectively deliver multiple proteins to the brains of rodents, marking a significant step towards treating complex neurological conditions. The company plans to validate the therapeutic efficacy of its lead drug candidate in rodents before progressing to larger animal models.

Funding and Future Plans

The recent funding round, which closed in September 2023, was led by WUTIF Capital and supported by various investors, including eFund, UBC Venture Funds, undisclosed angel investors, and existing backer HexTwo Capital. With this latest injection of capital, CereCura has raised a total of $2.2 million to date, including $800,000 in pre-seed financing from late 2023. Additionally, the startup has received over $4 million in government grants, further bolstering its financial foundation.

Co-founder and CEO Louis-Philippe Bernier, a neuroscientist with a PhD from McGill University, expressed optimism about the potential of lipid nanoparticle ribonucleic acid (LNP-RNA) technology. “We’re seeing this as something that will change the way we treat many diseases, not just the brain,” Bernier stated in an interview. His vision is supported by the expertise of fellow co-founder Pieter Cullis, a renowned scientist at UBC who pioneered LNPs, the technology that underpins many mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Innovative Therapeutic Approaches

CereCura’s approach is described as a unique adaptation of existing mRNA technologies, aimed specifically at improving protein delivery to the brain. The BBB serves as a vital protective barrier, but it also limits the effectiveness of many therapeutic drugs designed to treat neurological disorders. Bernier explained that while academic research has made strides in understanding the proteins associated with brain diseases, delivering these proteins effectively remains a challenge.

The company’s lead program focuses on treating neuronopathic Gaucher disease, a rare condition caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Bernier noted that this disease can be chronic or potentially fatal, making effective treatment crucial. In addition to Gaucher disease, CereCura is also exploring therapeutic options for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, conditions known to be influenced by multiple factors and proteins.

CereCura’s innovative “Trojan horse” strategy employs LNPs to deliver mRNA that encodes for therapeutic proteins directly to the brain, allowing the body to produce these proteins internally. This method offers a significantly longer half-life of approximately one week compared to traditional direct injections, which typically last only hours.

Bernier emphasized that while enzyme replacement therapy has been a longstanding treatment method, its effectiveness in the brain is limited. The new approach aims to overcome these limitations and provide more durable solutions for patients suffering from brain disorders.

WUTIF Capital’s COO, Aaron Stuart, expressed confidence in CereCura’s potential. “We decided to invest in CereCura because we were incredibly impressed by the team, their accomplishments, and their vision for the future,” he stated. The support from experienced investors is expected to guide the company through the complex pathway toward commercialization.

With ambitious plans to develop a pipeline of multiple pre-clinically validated drug assets, CereCura is well-positioned to make significant contributions to the treatment of neurological disorders in the years to come. The innovative application of COVID-era vaccine technology holds promise not just for brain diseases but for a broader range of medical challenges in the future.