Sudo Bio lands additional $30m for TYK2 inhibitors with potential in Alzheimer’s
Dementia Discovery Fund joins new investors, citing Sudo’s potential in multiple neuroinflammatory diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
US biopharma Sudo Biosciences has raised an additional $30 million in the second round of its Series B financing, bringing the total raised in the upsized round to $147 million. The company, which specializes in precision tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitors, has a pipeline of therapeutics including a brain-penetrant candidate with potential in multiple sclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases.

TYK2 plays a crucial role in cytokine signaling pathways related to various immune-mediated inflammatory conditions and is implicated in the inflammatory processes associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS. Sudo’s approach targets the TYK2 pseudokinase domain, which the company says enables increased selectivity, minimizing safety concerns associated with traditional approaches that lack specificity.

In addition to its brain-penetrant candidate, Sudo also has a topical candidate for immune-mediated dermatologic diseases. The new funding will be used to advance both programs into clinical trials.

New investors joining the funding round include Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), Leaps by Bayer, and UPMC Enterprises. DDF is a part of SV Health Investors Fund.

“We are happy to partner with Sudo on the Series B second closing and be a catalyst to enable the company to generate clinical data with these potential first and best-in-class brain-penetrant TYK2 inhibitors in multiple neuroinflammatory diseases,” said Jonathan Behr, a partner at SV Health Investors. “Specifically, we see scope to expand beyond MS into Alzheimer’s and ALS.”

Enavate Sciences and TPG led the round, with participation from Sanofi Ventures, Frazier Life Sciences, and others. Sudo has now raised a total of $188 million since its inception in 2020.

“Sudo’s TYK2 inhibitors have the potential to simplify treatment and improve outcomes in people with major neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases,” said Dr Matthias Kleinz, executive vice president at UPMC Enterprises.

Sudo Bio lands additional $30m for TYK2 inhibitors with potential in Alzheimer’s