Nuevocor, a preclinical-stage biotech company specializing in gene therapy for 
cardiomyopathies, has announced the completion of an oversubscribed $24 million 
Series A financing round. The round was co-led by EVX Ventures and Boehringer 
Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), with EDBI, Xora Innovation, SEEDS Capital and 
other investors joining the syndicate.

The funds will be used to accelerate the preclinical development of its lead 
programme, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) – based gene therapy for patients 
suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) due to mutations in the lamin A/C 
(LMNA) gene. The company also plans to address other untreatable 
cardiomyopathies using their novel target discovery platform.

Nuevocor's founding CEO, Dr Yann Chong Tan stated: "We are delighted to have 
this strong group of investors join us in developing gene therapy-based 
treatments that have the potential to restore cardiac function in diseased 
hearts. The current standard of care for dilated cardiomyopathy only serves to 
delay disease progression, and the only cure is to have a heart transplant. At 
Nuevocor, we hope to give patients a new lease of life through our technology." 

XQ Lin, Chairman of EVX Ventures, commented, "We are thrilled to co-lead 
Nuevocor's Series A round alongside other top tier investors. Nuevocor is the 
latest company to emerge from our venture creation ecosystem. We look forward 
to supporting Nuevocor's path towards the clinic and bringing new medicines to 
patients in need."

"Nuevocor is trying to apply a very innovative and challenging approach using 
gene therapy for the treatment of genetically-driven, dilated cardiomyopathies. 
We are excited to see that the company is exploiting the potential of genetic 
suppressors to change the course of these diseases and hopefully to 
significantly extend the life span and improve the life quality of DCM 
patients," said Dr. Weiyi Zhang, Managing Director of BIVF Asia. 

Headquartered in Singapore, Nuevocor is a privately held preclinical-stage 
biopharmaceutical company focused on developing AAV gene therapy for the 
treatment of genetically defined cardiac diseases with high unmet need. 
Nuevocor's lead program, lamin A/C dilated cardiomyopathy (LMNA DCM) gene 
therapy is based on decades of research into fundamental mechanisms underlying 
LMNA-associated disease enabled by development of novel technologies on the 
part of scientific co-founders Colin Stewart and Brian Burke of the Agency for 
Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Together with AAV gene therapy and 
cardiac disease modelling expertise of scientific co-founders Mark Kay from 
Stanford University and Jianming Jiang from the National University of 
Singapore respectively, Nuevocor is well-positioned to treat LMNA and other 
genetic cardiomyopathies, amongst other cardiac diseases.

"Singapore has made long-term R&D investments to drive health outcomes and 
economic growth, and to build the local biotech ecosystem. A*STAR is proud to 
have supported our spin-off Nuevocor in translating excellent science from 
bench to bedside so they can develop more effective gene therapies for 
hard-to-treat cardiac diseases, for better patient outcomes," said Professor Ng 
Huck Hui, Assistant Chief Executive, Biomedical Research Council, A*STAR.

About LMNA dilated cardiomyopathy

LMNA mutations are the #2 cause of familial DCM, affecting approximately 60,000 
people in the US and EU alone. The mutation confers amongst the worst prognosis 
of all DCM, with increased risk of arrhythmogenic DCM and sudden cardiac death. 
Being an autosomal dominant disease characterized by gain-of-function of the 
mutant Lmna protein, conventional gene replacement therapies would be 
ineffective for LMNA DCM. Nuevocor's innovative approach to gene therapy 
circumvents this roadblock.

About EVX Ventures

EVX Ventures is a global VC that builds, incubates, and invests in biotech 
companies. With a focus on disruptive therapeutics platform technologies and 
novel therapeutic modalities, they invest in global technologies to redefine 
the therapeutics of tomorrow. Learn more at www.evx.ventures 

About Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund

Created in 2010, the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund GmbH (BIVF) invests in 
groundbreaking therapeutics-focused biotechnology companies to drive innovation 
in biomedical research. BIVF is searching for significant enhancements in 
patient care through pioneering science and its clinical translation by 
building long-term relationships with scientists and entrepreneurs. BIVF's 
focus is to target unprecedented therapeutic concepts addressing high medical 
needs in immuno-oncology, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases and 
digital health. For more information, visit 
www.boehringer-ingelheim-venture.com.

Contact:
info@nuevocor.com

SOURCE: Nuevocor