As human beings, we enjoy many different luxuries at our disposal, but none are more valuable than the luxury of being able to scale up our approach. This particular element does a lot in regards to fuelling our growth over time. Now, when you are playing within such a progressive dynamic, you also end up bolstering your likelihood of discovering some notable by-products along the way, and if we have to back that up through an example, the easiest answer would be technology. Technology’s emergence was, by far, the most significant moment in our recent history, as it literally reinvented the meaning of human life. This might seem like a generic statement, but the whole thing justifies itself once you get to the granular level and see how the creation freed us from all the obsolete ideas that were holding the world back. By doing so, technology, of course, led us towards an entirely new reality, a reality which produced gazillion beneficiaries in its wake, and after looking at a recent funding, we can certainly deem our healthcare sector as one of them.
Aspen Neurosciences, private biotechnology company developing autologous cell therapies, has successfully secured over $147.5 million in Series B financing. Led by LYFE Capital and Revelation Partners, the round saw further participation coming from the likes of Newton Investment Management, Singapore-based global investor EDBI, LifeForce Capital, Medical Excellence Capital Partners, Mirae Asset Capital, NS Investment and plenty other investors. As per the agreed arrangement, Revelation Partners’ Doug Fisher will also join Aspen’s board of directors. Talk about how the company plans on using the newly-raised cash, it is reportedly looking to invest in its lead drug candidate, ANPD001, which is a cell therapy created specifically for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Nevertheless, unlike any other company, Aspen takes patient’s own stem cells to make up for their distinguished lack of dopamine producing neurons. Once the cells are extracted, they are put through an examination that is conducted with the help of artificial intelligence. The purpose here is to study the cells’ effectiveness before transplanting them for clinical use.
Aspen’s approach translates to a more personalized treatment, and because the therapy is constructed on patient’s own cells, there is no need of any immune-suppressing drugs that are usually required to prevent the immune system from rejecting the cell therapy. Furthermore, it also reduces the time and cost associated with the relevant manufacturing process.
“This company was founded by a visionary team of scientists and patient advocates, who envisioned a day when personalized cell replacement could be used to target neurodegenerative diseases. We are happy to be aligned with such a prestigious group of founders and investors, having raised more than $220 million since the company’s founding, towards our mission to develop transformational medicines for patients with limited treatment options,” said Damien McDevitt, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Aspen Neurosciences.
Aspen has already conducted in vitro and in vivo studies around their drug candidate, and according to the reported results, it was able to achieve a reliable production of dopamine-releasing neurons
