Neurona Therapeutics has announced that it has secured $120m in funding to help advance its lead candidate, NRTX-1001, a regenerative neural cell therapy currently being assessed for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).

Affecting around 50 million people globally, MTLE is the most common form of focal epilepsy, which can trigger ongoing seizures despite medical treatment.

Furthermore, for people with seizures resistant to anti-seizure drugs, epilepsy surgery can be an option. However, the surgical options are not available or effective for everyone and can be tissue-destructive with significant adverse effects.

The financing was provided through seed funding, co-led by Viking Global Investors and Cormorant Asset Management, as well as other institutional supporters including US Investments, UCB Ventures, Euclidean Capital, the Column Group and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Neurona’s lead candidate is a cell therapy comprised of inhibitory GABAergic interneurons, which could potentially address the underlying hyperactive neural networks in epileptic seizures.

Previous results from a phase 1/2 study of NRTX-1001, which Neurona presented at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in December last year, showed a more than 95% drop in overall seizure frequency for over a year after treatment.

In addition, the candidate was safe overall, with adverse events considered mild to moderate in severity.

Closed Loop Medicine has shared positive results of its novel drug and proprietary technology software, developed to personalise treatment for hypertension, or raised blood pressure, patients.

Findings from the study were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Currently the leading preventable cause of morbidity and premature death worldwide, hypertension occurs when the pressure in the blood vessels is abnormally high.

The first-line recommended anti-hypertensive drug, amlodipine, is usually discontinued by around 20% of patients due to unwanted effects, including peripheral oedema – the retention of fluid in the leg.

The results from the PERSONAL-COVIDBP clinical trial demonstrated the capabilities of the techbio company’s integrated precision care solution, CLM-HT01, to control blood pressure while minimising adverse reactions and supporting medical adherence in patients with primary hypertension.

CTM-HT01 is a single label combination product in development that is linked with Closed Loop Medicine’s software as a medical device in combination with amlodipine, which works to support more effective, precise and affordable disease management solutions to improve patient outcomes.

Researchers adjusted and personalised drug dosing using information recorded by patients into a smartphone app, which was transmitted securely to a clinician.

Results from the study demonstrated a significant reduction in hypertension, with the majority of patients achieving blood pressure control and minimising side effects, including those who were previously intolerant of conventional amlodipine doses.