Biotech startup secures £6.5m for dementia research
The search for the first drugs to tackle Alzheimer’s disease has taken a “fantastic step forward”, it was announced today.
A venture capital fund established by David Cameron’s government to boost dementia research announced a £6.5 million investment in a new biotech company that builds on research at University College London.
AstronauTx, the UCL spin-off, will develop medicines designed to reset the behaviour of astrocytes, crucial support cells in the brain, and potentially limit the damage caused by the disease. The cells have an important role in keeping nerve cells functioning, but they change in Alzheimer’s and become damaging.