University of Washington spinout AltPep, which is developing tests and treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, completed a $52.9 million Series B funding round.
The funding will help propel the company’s experimental treatments into clinical trials and support its regulatory application for a blood test to detect Alzheimer’s disease at its earliest stages, according to a statement Thursday announcing the funding.
AltPep targets a form of Amyloid-beta, a molecule that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear. These “toxic oligomers” are thought to trigger a host of other pathologies.
The company is also targeting a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease that has a similar molecular structure.