A biotech firm backed by University College London (UCL) tech developing a new treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has launched with a $101m (£79m) Series A.

Trace Neuroscience was co-founded by UCL molecular neuroscience professor Pietro Fratta and Stanford University genetics professor Aaron Gitler.

The company is developing nucleic acids with the aim of restoring the production of UNC13A – a key protein and essential compound for neuronal communication in the brain and spinal cord.

The decline in UNC13A production is a common characteristic of ALS, also known as motor neuron disease. Patients with ALS typically die within five years.

“UNC13A is critical for neurons to communicate amongst each other and with muscles and is lost in nearly all ALS cases,” said Fratta.

“Being able to re-establish this is groundbreaking. This large funding round is pivotal for us to rapidly translate this science into a life-changing medicine and advance our lead program toward the clinic.”

The Series A funding, which represents one of the largest in the year for the field, was led by Third Rock Ventures. Additional funding came from Atlas Ventures, GV and RA Capital Management.

Trace Neuroscience was formed via an exclusive intellectual property licensing agreement with UCL.

“This Series A funding round indicates investors’ excitement for UNC13A as a therapeutic target and commercial applications for this novel therapeutic,” said Caitriona O’Rourke, business manager at UCL Business.

“We share this excitement and are proud to support prof Fratta and the entire Trace Neuroscience team as they move this candidate from the lab into the clinic and hopefully to the market.”

UCL spinout large language model (LLM) startup Oriole Networks raised £17m in an October funding round led by Plural, the investment group led by government AI advisor Ian Hogarth.

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