LoQus23 Secures £35 Million for Huntington’s Disease Research
LoQus23 Therapeutics, a promising private biotechnology company based in Cambridge, UK, has made headlines recently by successfully raising £35 million in Series A funding. This funding round was notably led by Forbion, a well-regarded firm in the biotechnology investment sphere, which was joined by existing investors including SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and Novartis Venture Fund (NVF). One significant outcome of this funding is that Rogier Rooswinkel, a General Partner at Forbion, will be joining LoQus23’s Board of Directors, bringing valuable expertise to the team as they move forward with their innovative projects.
The primary aim of LoQus23 with this new influx of capital is to propel the pre-clinical development and initial clinical studies for their lead program, which focuses on an allosteric small molecule MutSβ inhibitor.
This particular focus is indicative of the company's wider mission: to develop small molecule somatic expansion inhibitors aimed at treating Huntington’s Disease and other triplet repeat disorders. Led by a team of notable founders—Dr. David Reynolds, Dr. Caroline Benn, and Dr. Ruth McKernan—the company is taking a unique approach to tackle these challenging health issues. Their innovative strategy promises to address the underlying DNA instability associated with these diseases, potentially slowing the progression of neurodegeneration.
LoQus23 has set ambitious goals as they prepare to bring their lead program into clinical trials, targeting a 2026 launch. Huntington’s Disease, which currently affects approximately 30,000 patients in the United States alone, is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder for which no disease-modifying treatments are available at this time. This makes their work with small molecule drugs increasingly relevant and critical. By employing a structure-based drug design methodology, LoQus23 aims to offer therapies that provide more convenient administration methods in comparison to existing treatments. With Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Benn, and Dr. McKernan at the helm, the company is poised to make significant strides in the treatment landscape for Huntington’s Disease and other similar disorders.
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