Investment will fund VNA-318, Vandria’s lead therapeutic for neurodegenerative diseases, targeting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Hevolution Foundation has joined forces with Dolby Family Ventures to invest in Vandria, a company pioneering mitochondrial therapeutics, with a view to expediting the development of a promising drug designed to improve cognitive function. The total Series A financing now stands at $30.7 million (CHF 28.3 million), with Hevolution and Dolby Family Ventures joining ND Capital as institutional backers. This funding is set to facilitate the clinical advancement of Vandria’s lead compound, VNA-318, a small molecule mitophagy inducer aimed at treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as other age-related conditions.
Longevity.Technology: The investment speaks to a growing interest in mitophagy – an essential cellular process that involves the selective removal and recycling of damaged mitochondria. Mitochondria are critical for maintaining cellular health, and their dysfunction is increasingly linked to numerous human pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disorders and cancers. Therapeutic interventions that enhance mitophagy have shown promise in restoring cellular function and potentially mitigating the effects of aging and disease. With neurodegeneration affecting millions globally, such interventions could have a profound impact on both lifespan and healthspan, as well as easing the considerable financial burden on healthcare providers.
Hevolution Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on accelerating research into healthspan and aging, sees this investment as part of its broader mission to support innovations that improve quality of life for aging populations.
“We are excited by the potential of mitophagy as a new therapeutic approach with strong disease-modifying effects for an aging world population that faces cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” said Jens Eckstein, Investment Partner at Hevolution Foundation. “Vandria’s pipeline offers even wider potential to address other age-related and chronic diseases of the muscle, lung and liver. This investment aligns with our mission to fund innovations that help catalyse the shift from lifespan to healthspan so that everyone can live healthier lives for longer.”
VNA-318, Vandria’s lead candidate, is a small molecule designed to induce mitophagy, targeting the central nervous system. Preclinical studies have shown that the compound has both immediate cognitive-enhancing effects, acutely improve memory and learning and long-term disease-modifying properties in models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. These dual effects make VNA-318 a particularly promising therapeutic in the field of neurodegeneration, which remains a significant unmet medical need. The compound is expected to enter clinical trials in Europe in the coming weeks, marking a pivotal moment for Vandria as it transitions to a clinical-stage company.
Dolby Family Ventures, which focuses on early-stage neuroscience investments, also sees significant potential in Vandria’s approach.
“Given the association of mitophagy to neurodegeneration and other disorders and Vandria’s robust preclinical dataset in showing neuroprotective effects and the potential to improve cognition, we are delighted to invest in the company to demonstrate this potential via clinical studies,” said Sourav Kole, Managing Director of Dolby Family Ventures.
Vandria’s successful funding round reflects the increasing interest in therapeutic strategies targeting mitophagy. As evidence mounts linking impaired mitophagy to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and other chronic conditions, there is growing optimism that drugs targeting this process could offer meaningful clinical benefits. In the case of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, two of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, therapeutic options remain limited. VNA-318 offers the potential not only to improve cognitive function but also to slow the progression of these debilitating diseases by addressing their underlying mechanisms.
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are placing a growing burden on healthcare systems worldwide, as aging populations face increasing rates of cognitive decline. Alzheimer’s disease alone affects over 55 million people globally, a figure expected to rise sharply in the coming decades [1]. The economic cost of these diseases is substantial, with dementia care in the US alone projected to rocket to nearly $1 trillion in 2050 [2]. Furthermore, the personal and societal toll of cognitive decline is immense, with patients and families facing the progressive loss of memory, independence and quality of life. Drugs like VNA-318 could play a critical role in addressing these challenges.
Beyond neurodegenerative diseases, Vandria’s mitophagy-inducing platform holds potential for treating a wide range of age-related and chronic conditions. The company is exploring additional therapeutic indications in muscle, lung and liver diseases, areas where mitochondrial dysfunction also plays a critical role. Vandria’s portfolio includes compounds that induce mitophagy and exhibit anti-inflammatory effects, which may have broad applications across multiple disease areas.
Klaus Dugi, CEO of Vandria, expressed confidence in the company’s trajectory following the close of the Series A financing.
“This financing will enable us to progress further in clinical development with runway from the Series A to complete the Single Ascending Dose (SAD) and Multiple Ascending Dose (MAD) first-in-man Phase 1 study of VNA-318 and to initiate three parallel Phase 1b/2a efficacy studies in 2025, subject to positive progress in the Phase 1 and regulatory approvals,” he said.
The Series A financing also includes non-dilutive funding from Innosuisse and Eurostars grants, which will support the development of Vandria’s broader mitophagy platform. The company has secured CHF 4.2 million in grant funding to advance preclinical studies, further strengthening its pipeline of potential therapeutics.
As Vandria moves forward with its clinical program, it will focus on translating its preclinical success targeting mitochondrial dysfunction into clinical outcomes that can treat age-related and chronic diseases; to that end, the company has expanded its team and relocated to dedicated lab facilities on the Biopôle Lausanne.
For Hevolution Foundation, this investment is a continuation of its commitment to supporting science that aims to extend healthy human lifespan. Launched in 2021, Hevolution has already committed over $400 million to aging-related research and therapies, and with a focus on catalyzing breakthroughs in healthspan science, Hevolution is positioning itself at the forefront of efforts to treat aging as a modifiable process.
[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
[2] https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
