$31m seed round success fires up TRIMTECH Therapeutics’ mission
TRIMTECH Therapeutics’s incredible $31million seed funding haul will be deployed to develop treatments for severe neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
From its base at the Milner Therapeutics Institute, TRIMTECH is developing a pipeline of potent, CNS (central nervous system) penetrant therapeutics based on its aggregate-selective degrader molecules known as TRIMTACs. It leverages the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM21 molecule to selectively and potently degrade protein aggregates associated with a range of diseases which are not well served by current TPD approaches.
This includes treatments for severe neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
The company was founded in November 2023 by Cambridge Innovation Capital and the Dementia Discovery Fund in conjunction with CIC’s then joint entrepreneur-in-residence, Damian Crowther, and academic co-founders Leo James (MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology) and Will McEwan (UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge).
Dr Crowther is now head of research and, in January, Nicki Thompson took over the CEO mantle. Dr Thompson, a ‘CEO of the Year’ winner at the Cambridge Independent’s 2023 Science and Technology Awards while heading up Amphista Therapeutics.
She went on to chair Camena Bioscience, but she joined TRIMTECH to fulfill an ambition, as she told the Cambridge Independent.
“It has been a long-time goal of mine to focus on neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases, which are still underserved by the targeted protein degradation (TPD) field for many reasons,” said Nicki. “When I met the scientific founders of TRIMTECH (Leo James and Will McEwan) and entrepreneur-in-residence with our co-leads CIC/DDF, Damian Crowther, we discussed the groundbreaking science and novel degradation mechanism they had identified.
“It was clear to me that this novel mechanism that TRIMTECH’s technology is based on has real potential to open up TPD to neurodegenerative diseases and beyond.
“This is because the novel protein identified, known as TRIM21, is ideally suited to selectively remove aggregated or mutant proteins from the cell.
“It is these toxic aggregates that underlie many of these diseases and being able to potently and rapidly remove them to treat these diseases has proved challenging for the field.
“Finding an approach that has the potential to remove these toxic aggregates and treat these patients felt like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
The financing was led by Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) and SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), with M Ventures and Pfizer Ventures joining. Additional investors also include Eli Lilly and Company, MP Healthcare Venture Management (MPH), Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, and Start Codon.
Michael Anstey, partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital, said: “CIC is proud to have been part of the creation of TRIMTECH and co-led this financing round.
“With over 55 million people affected by Alzheimer’s and millions more battling other neurodegenerative disorders, this groundbreaking innovation has the potential to transform the course of treatment for these patients.”
Laurence Barker, partner, SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, said: “While targeted protein degradation has revolutionised drug discovery, effective clearance of protein aggregates remains a major challenge. TRIMTECH’s differentiated approach directly addresses this gap, opening new possibilities for treating neurodegenerative conditions and beyond.”
TRIMTECH was also one of the winners in the 2025 #21toWatch awards held earlier this month.
