Alzeca Biosciences
COMPANY PROFILE:
Founded in 2011, Alzeca is an early-stage healthcare diagnostic company focused on the development of novel targeted MRI imaging agents for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The company’s proprietary technology is based on nanoparticles that specifically bind to abnormal proteins that accumulate in the brain – years before significant cognitive symptoms appear. Alzeca’s imaging agents look to provide physicians and patients with significantly safer, more cost-effective, and more widely available diagnosis and screening opportunities for this disease at a stage when it is far more treatable.
FIELDSTONE’S ROLE:
Long active in a broad range of non-profit support activities, Fieldstone and its principals in 2010 had begun work supporting the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (CAF), a Boston-based foundation focused on “venture philanthropy” grants for potential transformational technologies that might lead to a cure or mitigant for Alzheimer’s. Later that year, Fieldstone helped fund and raise non-profit funding with CAF for researchers at UT Health Sciences and the University of Houston, whose groundbreaking imaging technologies were targeting amyloid plaques in the brain. Recognizing the enormous societal need and commercial potential, Fieldstone helped the research team form Alzeca Biosciences, LLC in 2011. Fieldstone went on to help raise over $3 million in research funding through a mix of equity capital and various research grants. In 2017, Alzeca successfully closed an $11 million Series A financing, significantly advancing its mission.
TODAY:
Alzheimer’s is today the 6th leading cause of death. With the disease impacting over 5 million Americans, and projected to quadruple by 2050, early detection is critical. Funds raised have propelled the development of Alzeca’s ADx nanoparticle – the first MRI contrast agent targeting amyloid plaques – through Phase I human clinical trials, scheduled to launch in early 2020. They will also enable Alzeca to accelerate development of MRI-based imaging agents targeting other abnormal brain proteins to unlock additional causes of dementia, including CTE. As the technology has given rise to early detection that is much less costly than traditional PET imaging, without the high doses of radiation, and available worldwide, Alzeca’s efforts stand to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of this devastating disease. As a co-founder and a minority investor, and with Fieldstone President Steve Cook serving on the Alzeca Board of Directors, we are proud to be part of this important effort.
