CereCura Secures $1.4 Million to Revolutionize Brain Disorder Treatments

CereCura Nanotherapeutics, a Vancouver-based biotech startup, has secured $1.4 million CAD in seed funding to develop treatments for neurological disorders using technology originally designed for COVID-19 vaccines. Founded as a spin-out from the University of British Columbia (UBC), the company aims to leverage its innovative drug delivery system to address longstanding challenges in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The funding, which closed in September 2023, was led by WUTIF Capital and included participation from eFund, UBC Venture Funds, undisclosed angel investors, and existing supporter HexTwo Capital. This latest investment brings the total funding raised by CereCura to $2.2 million, which includes $800,000 from pre-seed financing in late 2023. The startup has also received over $4 million in government grants to date.

CereCura’s co-founder and CEO, Louis-Philippe Bernier, believes the technology, which utilizes lipid nanoparticle ribonucleic acid (LNP-RNA), can significantly alter the treatment landscape for various diseases. “We’re seeing this as something that will change the way we treat many diseases, not just the brain,” Bernier stated in an interview with BetaKit.

A key challenge in treating neurological disorders is the restrictive nature of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which limits the delivery of therapeutic agents to the brain. CereCura’s technology aims to overcome this barrier by using LNPs to transport genetic instructions directly to the brain, allowing it to produce the necessary proteins internally. This innovative approach is described by Bernier as a “twist on [LNP] mRNA technologies to improve protein delivery to the brain.”

CereCura is initially focusing on developing treatments for neuronopathic Gaucher disease, a rare disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. The company is also investigating potential therapies for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, conditions known to involve multiple contributing proteins. While traditional enzyme replacement therapies have been available for decades, their effectiveness in the brain is often limited.

Bernier emphasizes that the LNP technology has a much longer half-life compared to direct drug injections, which typically last only hours. “Our approach has a much longer half-life of a week,” he explained. This method not only enhances the delivery of therapeutic proteins but also holds promise for broader applications beyond neurological disorders.

Reflecting on the startup’s development, Bernier noted, “Academic research is fun, but it’s hard to fix problems in the brain.” His partnership with LNP pioneer Pieter Cullis, who developed the LNP drug delivery system that enabled the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, has been pivotal. Together, they aim to commercialize the therapeutic potential of their discoveries.

WUTIF Capital’s COO, Aaron Stuart, expressed confidence in CereCura’s mission, stating, “We were incredibly impressed by the team, their accomplishments, and their vision for the future.” He believes that Cullis’s expertise will be invaluable in guiding CereCura through the commercialization process.

CereCura’s ambition is to establish a pipeline of multiple pre-clinically validated drug assets, and Bernier is optimistic about the versatility of their technology in achieving these goals. As the company moves forward, it aims not only to innovate within the realm of neurological treatments but also to explore additional therapeutic avenues that may arise from their groundbreaking work.