Convergen, a biotechnology company creating targeted protein degradation (TPD) therapies for diseases driven by pathological protein aggregates, has announced the closing of a $15m Seed+ financing round. This round was led by MPCi, with participation from LAV, BioTrack Capital and a biotech fund. Prior to this round, the company raised $10m in a seed financing round led exclusively by Qiming Venture Partners.
The proceeds will be used to further advance Convergen’s proprietary degrader platform and accelerate its pipeline for neurodegenerative disorders and other protein aggregation diseases.
“We are grateful to the distinguished group of investors and their confidence in our science, platform and team,” said Jinquan Sun, CEO of Convergen.
“We have made significant progress in advancing our protein degradation platform. This financing will enable us to accelerate our lead asset toward the clinic while continuing to advance our pipeline, with the goal of bringing new therapeutic options to patients with neurodegenerative diseases and beyond.”
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s represent one of the largest unmet medical needs globally, with pathologic protein aggregation at the core. Convergen’s scientific founder, Ting Han, whose laboratory reported the first TRIM21 molecular glue, established the proof-of-concept of the first TrimTAC degrader (November 2024 in Cell) which targets protein aggregopathies by exploiting TRIM21’s unique property.
Beyond neurodegeneration, TrimTAC has demonstrated potential in selectively degrading other targets for autoimmune diseases.