Asceneuron SA

Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and co-founded by Dirk Beher in 2012, as a spin-off from Merck Serono’s Alzheimer’s drug discovery portfolio, Asceneuron SA operates as a biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and orphan tauopathies. In March 2021, the firm raised USD 2. 2 million in a grant led by investor The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Other investors of Asceneuron include Sofinnova Partners, SR One, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Kurma Partners, and M Ventures.

The firm as of June 2024, is led by its CEO, Barbara Angehrn Pavik. The company focuses on creating oral therapies to halt abnormal protein aggregation, a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases. Asceneuron’s pipeline includes two leading O-GlcNAcase inhibitors, ASN51 and ASN90. Both have completed Phase 1 clinical studies, demonstrating significant brain penetration and inhibition of protein aggregation.

ASN51 is poised to enter Phase 2 trials for Alzheimer’s disease in late 2024. ASN90 is licensed to Ferrer for treating progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and is also being explored for additional indications. Additionally the firm also engages in research publications and some of them include IP-LC-MSMS Enables Identification of Three Tau O-GlcNAcylation Sites as O-GlcNAcase Inhibition Pharmacodynamic Readout in Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Human Tau, O-GlcNAcase Inhibitor ASN90 is a Multimodal Drug Candidate for Tau and α-Synuclein Proteinopathies, etc.