Brain diagnostics company Amprion recently closed $6 million from a $15 million total Series B financing round to expand the company’s commercial reach and enhance dementia research and treatment.
Amprion diagnostics have the capacity to detect small amounts of “misfolded proteins” and is the only validated seed amplification available to aid in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“We are honored to have FVE and Lilly support our team as we work to advance precision medicine for neurodegenerative disorders,” said Russell Lebovitz, MD, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Amprion. “In addition, the strong interest by leading neurology centers and pharmaceutical companies in our mission is indicative of the confidence they have in our technology and in our vision to bring needed clarity to patients and their loved ones with our novel biomarker test.”
Earlier this year, Amprion received a letter of support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommending the use of the company’s tests for research and clinical trials.
The funding round was led by Formation Venture Engineering with participation by Eli Lilly and Company and Amprion Series A investors.
“We are proud to support Amprion and its mission to truly revolutionize brain disease diagnosis and accelerate precision medicine for neurodegenerative disorders,” said Rahul Bhansali, Managing Partner, FVE. “We believe the shift to diagnosis based on biology, rather than symptomatology, will be transformative for patients and clinicians. We are excited to support Amprion as they continue to advance their novel technology.”
To expand the company’s expansion of its clinical footprint across the country, Ambrion recently filed an application to the New York Department of Health, along with reorganizing the company’s board with three new members to “manage regulatory pathways and better position the company for growth.”
In July, the FDA approved Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, for early-stage Alzheimer’s treatment. Clinical trials showed that donanemab slowed mental deterioration and reduced the risk of dementia proliferation.
