New biotech venture launched to focus on diseases like dementia

An Edinburgh biotech venture has been launched that will focus on helping patients suffering from a range of diseases, including dementia.

Partner Elizabeth Roper is delighted at the project. Picture: Contributed

Nodthera, which will utilise immunological approaches to disease, has been created by Epidarex Capital, a fund that invests in early-stage, high-growth life science and health technology businesses.

The new venture is based on world-class research conducted within Selvita, an international drug discovery company, which has offices in Boston, Cambridge, Krakow and San Francisco.

Elizabeth Roper, a partner at Epidarex Capital who led the deal, said: “Epidarex is delighted to be partnering with Selvita to bring this exciting science to market.

“Nodthera has the potential to create first-in-class small molecule modulators of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex which could be a significant development in the field.”

Krzysztof Brzozka, chief scientific officer at Selvita, said: “We are confident that Nodthera’s therapeutic approach is exceptional and addresses an important class of intracellular receptors implicated in variety of disorders with unmet medical needs.

“We’re excited to work with a partner such as Nodthera, who shares our vision and belief that in drug discovery joining forces and cooperation is the key to success.”

Inflammasomes are large multi-protein complexes that assemble in a cell’s cytoplasm in response to environmental danger signals and are considered an essential part of an organism’s innate immune response.