Company targets metabolic imbalances in the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases including ALS and Alzheimer’s.
US biotech Leal Therapeutics has secured $30 million in Series A funding to advance its pipeline of neuro-metabolic therapies, with a focus on treating neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. The Worcester, Mass.-based company is developing therapeutics designed to correct metabolic imbalances in the brain.
The company’s lead program, LTX-001, is a brain-penetrant oral small molecule designed to inhibit glutaminase, a mitochondrial enzyme that drives excessive glutamate production. Elevated glutamate levels have long been linked to excitotoxicity, a mechanism thought to contribute to both psychiatric illness and neurodegeneration. Leal is initially testing the drug in schizophrenia, but the company also sees potential applications in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other conditions. The company says that early human studies have shown safety and target engagement, and the new financing will fund a clinical trial aimed at generating efficacy data in schizophrenia patients.
A second program, LTX-002, is nearing clinical evaluation in ALS. The antisense oligonucleotide targets serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), the first and rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of key lipids implicated in ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions. By selectively inhibiting a subunit of the enzyme, Leal aims to reduce toxic lipid accumulation that may contribute to motor neuron degeneration. The new funding will also support the generation of initial human data for LTX-002.
Finally, Leal is advancing LTX-007, a small molecule inhibitor of SPT for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. In parallel, the company is building delivery platforms to enhance the ability of nucleic acid drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier, employing antibody-like shuttles to expand the reach of these therapies in the central nervous system.
The $30 million round was led by SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, joined by OrbiMed, Newpath Partners, Chugai Venture Fund, Euclidean Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and PhiFund. The new raise follows a $45 million financing last October and a prior $39 million round, bringing total funding in the company to more than $110 million.
