SAN DIEGO– Amprion, a global leader advancing diagnoses of neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the successful initial $6 million close of a $15 million Series B financing. The round was led by Formation Venture Engineering (FVE) with participation by Eli Lilly and Company and Amprion’s Series A investors. It will expand Amprion’s commercial reach and enable increased R&D investment to further Amprion’s mission to revolutionize brain disease diagnosis.
Amprion has evolved seed amplification testing, which enables the detection of small amounts of misfolded proteins in biological samples, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Amprion’s SAAmplify-ɑSYN biomarker test (formerly SYNTap®) is the only validated seed amplification assay available to help with the diagnosis of synucleinopathies associated with Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease with neocortical Lewy body co-pathology. Amprion has also partnered with numerous pharma companies to develop therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Recently, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Letter of Support (LoS) recommending the use of the alpha-synuclein (α-syn) seed amplification assay (synSAA) for research and clinical trials.
“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 symptomology, will be transformative for patients and clinicians. We are excited to support Amprion as they continue to advance their novel technology.”
Recently published studies in The Lancet Neurology, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and other leading journals continue to validate the technology, demonstrating the high sensitivity and specificity of Amprion’s SAA for detecting ɑ-synuclein aggregates in CSF – all of which is also confirmed by autopsy.
“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.”
Amprion recently submitted its application to New York’s Department of Health which will enable the expansion of its clinical footprint in the United States. In addition, Amprion is reconfiguring its Board to include the addition of up to 3 new members with industry expertise to manage regulatory pathways and better position the company for growth.
