SAN DIEGO, April 6, 2020 — Aspen Neuroscience, a private biotechnology company developing the first autologous neuron replacement therapy to treat Parkinson disease, today announced the reconstitution of its Board of Directors, including a new Board Chair, following the closing of its Series A financing of $70 million. OrbiMed led the investment round with participation from ARCH Venture Partners, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Domain Associates, Section 32, and Sam Altman.
“We have assembled a world-class team of scientists and businessmen to help us continue our growth,” said Dr. Howard Federoff, Chief Executive Officer of Aspen Neuroscience. “With this group in place, we look forward to advancing our autologous neuron therapy to help the many people suffering from Parkinson disease.”
The new Chairman, Faheem Hasnain, is Co-founder and Chairman of Gossamer Bio and Chairman of Mirati Therapeutics. Other additions include Tom Daniel, Chairman of Locana and Venture Partner at ARCH Ventures, and Peter Thompson, Co-founder and Chairman of Silverback Therapeutics and Partner at OrbiMed. These members join existing Directors which include Howard Federoff, CEO of Aspen, David Barker, former CSO of Illumina and Chairman of Bionano Genomics, and Stephen Squinto, Co-founder of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Co-founder and former CEO of Passage Bio and Executive Partner at OrbiMed.
“This is an exciting time to be involved with regenerative medicine,” said Hasnain. “The board is united in our belief that these efforts will make a measurable difference in the lives of people with Parkinson disease around the world.”
Aspen’s lead product, ANPD001, is currently undergoing investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies for the treatment of sporadic forms of Parkinson disease. Aspen intends to submit the IND for the lead product to the FDA in 2021 and subsequently begin clinical trials.
