The pharma company Teitur Trophics that targets neurodegenerative diseases has joined the BII Creation House program.
Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the greatest unmet clinical needs today. In the past years, none of the many hypotheses aiming at altering very specific pathways in the cells have been proven successful.
As part of the Creation House program, Teitur Trophics will have access to a global network of life science entrepreneurs and investors, labs and office space, business development and DKK 10M in funding during the coming 18 months.
“Teitur Trophics has discovered a completely novel way of keeping brain cells alive, by improving neuron survival and reducing the loss of brain cells. We look forward to supporting them in their early development towards clinical trials and medication for patients, says Senior Scientific Business Developer, Hervør Lykke Olsen.
To bring entrepreneurial know-how to the team, Teitur Trophics has engaged with Simon Glerup, Associate Professor at Institute of Biomedicine at Aarhus University as a close advisor. He brings the experience of recently having raised a Series A investment with his company Draupnir Bio which is also a spin-out from Aarhus University.
The team consists of CEO Simon Mølgaard, scientist Mathias Ollendorff and scientist Anders Dalby who are all co-founders of Teitur Trophics. We talked to Simon Mølgaard about the company.
What is your solution?
We study receptors that are central to neural function and by understanding the biology of the receptor we can modulate key mechanisms in the neural function. We have discovered a novel mechanism to promote neuronal survival and general well-being to thereby target the most critical component of neurodegenerative diseases which is the loss of brain cells. By changing the fate of these neurons, we aim is to develop treatments that through daily injections can prevent the development of diseases such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.
How did you realize that this had the potential to save lives?
In our lab, we have studied neurotrophins and their role in preserving neuronal function in the aging brain. This mechanism is considered critical to neuronal function and often described as the holy grail in treating neurodegenerative disorders. Unfortunately, major obstacles, such as delivery to the brain, have prevented the development of medicine targeting this mechanism. Through thorough science, we have discovered a method for circumventing these obstacles and work towards making medicine for these diseases and this carries great potential.
What are your plans for the coming 18 months in the Creation House program?
We see Creation House as a unique opportunity to bring in expertise from all aspects of drug development. Besides meeting and learning from experts in the field, we are preparing studies of potential benefits in mice models of Huntington’s disease. If successful we expect to raise additional funding to move to IND filing and eventually clinical trials a few years from now.
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