Elevian Announces $15 Million Equity Financing: Expands Leadership Team As it Advances Preclinical Studies of rGDF11 in Stroke and Other Age-Related Diseases

November 24, 2020

Elevian* today announced that has secured $15 million in equity financing.

Elevian, is an emerging biotech company developing medicines that restore youthful regenerative capacity with the potential to treat and prevent multiple age-related diseases.

Proceeds from the equity financing will enable Elevian to advance recombinant GDF11 (rGDF11) toward the clinic to treat stroke and other age-related diseases. The financing, including conversion of prior notes, was led by Prime Movers Lab and involved the participation of Bold Capital Partners, For Good Ventures, Kizoo Ventures, Lauder Partners, Longevity Fund, SavEarth Fund, WTI, and several prominent angels.

In conjunction with the financing, Elevian has appointed Suzanne Fletcher and Dan Marshak to its board of directors. Fletcher is a general partner at Prime Movers Lab, investing in breakthrough scientific startups, with 20 years of experience working in the technology and investment space.  Biotech industry veteran Marshak is a former senior executive at PerkinsElmer, Cambrex Therapeutics and Osiris Therapeutics and sits on the board of Tecan Group, InVivo Therapeutics, and LifeVault Bio. Marshak will advise Elevian in its biopharmaceutical manufacturing program.

“Recombinant GDF11 is a novel therapy and approach to treating stroke and other age-related diseases. Elevian has assembled a team of excellent leaders to develop this multi-disease therapy,” said Fletcher. “We look forward to supporting this innovative company focused on treating devastating diseases.”

Elevian also expanded its executive leadership team. Yongting Wang, Ph.D. has joined as the director of Protein Biochemistry & Neuroscience. Dr. Wang leads Elevian’s protein biochemistry efforts, including the production and scale-up of rGDF11, as well as leading Elevian’s preclinical neuroscience development programs, including stroke. After a post-doc from MIT, Dr. Wang was formerly professor of neuroscience at Shanghai Jiaotong University, investigating the mechanism of injury and repair after ischemic stroke.

“The support and commitment from our new and existing investors demonstrate confidence in Elevian’s vision to treat multiple age-related diseases by targeting the GDF11 pathway,” said Mark Allen, M.D., CEO and co-founder of Elevian. “We are focused now on advancing our first drug, rGDF11 toward the clinic both to promote recovery after stroke and to treat obesity.  The expansion of our executive team and the additions to our board of directors will help to guide Elevian as we enhance our understanding of aging and age-related diseases.”

Dr. Allen and Elevian were recently featured in a Prime Movers Lab webinar exploring the top trends and technologies in human longevity, alongside Professor David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Aubrey de Grey, SENS Research Foundation.

*Elevian is an emerging biotech company developing medicines that restore youthful regenerative capacity, with the potential to treat and prevent multiple age-related diseases. Elevian’s scientific founders, working at the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, discovered that replenishing the circulating factor GDF11 can regenerate the heart, brain, muscle, and other tissues.

Elevian has acquired exclusive, worldwide rights to Harvard’s patent portfolio concerning circulating factors that regulate aging. The company is developing new medicines that target the GDF11 pathway. Elevian’s lead drug candidate (recombinant human GDF11) has demonstrated efficacy in preclinical models of stroke, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease, and many other age-related diseases. The company has also established additional programs focused on the discovery and development of novel proteins, antibodies, and small molecule drugs that target the GDF11 pathway.