Lilly-Backed Nido Biosciences Launches with $109M to Target Neurological Diseases

Pictured: Jar of money / Adobe Stock, juliasudnitskaya

Nido Biosciences, a precision neuroscience company developing new small molecules for neurological diseases, emerged from stealth Monday with a combined $109 million in Series A, Series B and seed financings.

The pack of investors included 5AM, Abingworth, Bessemer Venture Partners, Eli Lilly and Osage University Partners. Bioluminescence Ventures led the Series B funding, along with unnamed new investors. 

Nido is led by Jeremy Springhorn, former business chief at Syros Pharmaceuticals and an Alexion veteran of nearly three decades. The startup, founded through the 4:59 Initiative at 5AM Ventures, is focused on developing new small molecules that target the underlying causes of neurological diseases.

Springhorn said Nido’s approach would leverage precision neuroscience to develop novel therapies, according to a prepared statement.

Nido’s clinical stage candidate, NIDO-361, is in Phase I development and aims to address spinal bulbar and muscular atrophy, also known as Kennedy’s disease. The rare X-linked neuromuscular disorder is caused by a genetic mutation of the androgen receptor (AR), resulting in loss of skeletal muscle and motor neuron function, according to Nido.

NIDO-361 is a novel, small molecule that binds to a site on the AR to address dysregulation and restore healthy cell function. In Nido’s other work in the rare disease space, it uses a functional genomics platform based on human cell lines to create therapeutics for several neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

Nido used its Series A financing to advance its lead program into clinical trials and build out its pipeline of new programs. The Series B round remains open. 

Lisa Munger is a senior editor at BioSpace. You can reach her at lisa.munger@biospace.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.