Johns Hopkins spinout Neuraly launches with $36M funding round

A Johns Hopkins biotech spinout working on new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkison’s disease officially launched with lots of fuel in the tank.

Neuraly said it raised $36 million in Series A funding from Korean venture funds including Smilegate Investment, InterVest, LB Investment, Magna Investment, Geon Investment and Dongkoo Bio&Pharma. Octave Life Sciences and Maryland Venture Fund also participated.

The technology behind the treatment was born at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and grew out of work by neuroscientists led by Institute for Cell Engineering director Ted Dawson. The company formed in 2016 as leaders looked to bring changes to treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

“Currently, there aren’t any treatments that reverse, stop, or even slow neurodegeneration in diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The treatments that do exist – all symptomatic – provide only temporary improvement in motor and cognitive function, but even these become less effective over time,” CEO Seulki Lee said in a statemen

Lee said the company is seeing promising early results in the potential for its main underlying product, called NLY01, to slow the progression of the diseases.

The Germantown-based company is looking to move into clinical trials in late 2018.

It’s the second eye-catching funding round from a Hopkins-originated biotech company this summer. WindMIL Therapeutics, which is targeting cancer, posted a $32.5 million Series B round in June.