SAN DIEGO, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aspen Neuroscience, Inc., a private biotechnology company developing the first autologous neuron replacement therapies to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD), announced today the appointment of Ana Sousa, MSJ as the company’s Chief Regulatory Officer.

Since 2021, Ms. Sousa has served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Quality at Aspen, where she developed the regulatory, quality and project management teams, and as the ANPD001 Project Team Leader, guiding product strategy and taking the company’s lead product from a pre-clinical to clinical stage.

Aspen Neuroscience has appointed Ana Sousa, MSJ as Chief Regulatory Officer.Post this

“Ana is a key member of the executive team and has been instrumental in building our organization and in driving our lead therapeutic candidate to the clinic,” said Damien McDevitt, PhD, Aspen Neuroscience president and chief executive officer. “Under her tenure, we have opened our first US IND and obtained FDA ‘fast track’ status for ANPD001. Now as we enter the clinic and broaden our pipeline, we will look to her continued leadership both in the US and abroad.”

A senior drug development and regulatory executive with more than 20 years of industry experience, Ana has successfully led global regulatory programs and developed key industry talent at Roche/Genentech and Onyx/Amgen, and built global regulatory departments at Principia Biopharma (Sanofi) and several other successful startup companies.

Ana received her undergraduate degree at Pace University, Lubin School of Business, and her Master of Science in Jurisprudence (MSJ) degree with a concentration in Health Law and Intellectual Property at The Seton Hall University School of Law.

About ANPD001
ANPD001 is an investigational cell therapy product being studied as an autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson’s disease. Aspen’s personalized 3-step manufacturing approach starts from a small sample of the patient’s own skin cells, followed by reprogramming to induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) and then differentiation into dopaminergic neuron precursors (DANPCs). These DANPCs are then provided to the patient via surgery to replace their cells that were lost or damaged due to disease. The quality of each person’s cells is assessed at every manufacturing stage using Aspen’s proprietary machine learning-based genomics tests.  

About Aspen Neuroscience
Headquartered in San Diego, Aspen Neuroscience, Inc. is a clinical development-stage, private company focused on autologous regenerative medicine. The company’s patient-derived iPSC platform is used to create personalized cell therapies to address diseases with high unmet medical needs, beginning with autologous neuron replacement for Parkinson’s disease. 

Aspen combines stem cell biology with the latest machine learning and genomic approaches to investigate patient-specific, restorative cell treatments. The company has developed a best-in-class platform to create and optimize pluripotent-derived cell therapies, which includes in-house bioinformatics, manufacturing and QC. For more information and important updates, please visit https://www.aspenneuroscience.com. 

SAN DIEGO Calif., December 21, 2022 — Aspen Neuroscience, Inc., a private biotechnology company developing autologous cell therapies including the first iPSC-derived autologous neuron replacement treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD), has signed a $40 million credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Deal terms were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to work with Silicon Valley Bank. As a leader in autologous cell therapy, Aspen lives at the intersection of tech and biology, and SVB is a premier strategic partner in both spaces,” said Kameel Farag, Chief Financial Officer of Aspen Neuroscience. “This non-dilutive financing complements our Series B round from earlier in the year and provides significant financial flexibility on top of our already strong balance sheet.”

The San Diego-based company has recently announced the achievement of key pre-clinical and corporate milestones, including raising $147.5 million in Series B financing to support the planned studies of the company’s lead product candidate for Parkinson’s Disease, ANPD001: a first-in-kind iPSC based autologous cell therapy. The company also recently announced the start of its trial ready patient screening cohort study for ANPD001.

“Aspen Neuroscience is pioneering important advancements in the use of bioinformatics-based artificial intelligence to drive autologous cell therapy development,” said Michael White, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank. “We’re pleased to expand our relationship with the Aspen Neuro team and support them as they continue to scale and grow.”

About Aspen Neuroscience

Headquartered in San Diego, Aspen Neuroscience, Inc. is a development stage, private biotechnology company focused on personalized (autologous) cell therapies. The company is developing induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to address diseases with high unmet medical need, beginning with autologous neuron replacement for both sporadic and genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and extending across the brain and affected organs.

A leading iPSC platform company, Aspen combines stem cell biology with the latest artificial intelligence and genomic approaches to investigate patient-specific, restorative treatments. The company has developed a best-in-class platform to create and characterize pluripotent-derived cell medicines, which includes in-house bioinformatics, manufacturing and QC. For more information and important updates, please visit http://www.aspenneuroscience.com.

About Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and investors, provides commercial banking services, expertise and insights to the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, venture capital and premium wine industries. Silicon Valley Bank operates in centers of innovation around the world and is one of SVB’s core businesses with SVB Capital, SVB Private and SVB Securities. With global commercial banking services, Silicon Valley Bank helps address the unique needs of its dynamic, fast-growing, innovative clients. Learn more at svb.com. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial Group (SVB) (Nasdaq: SIVB). SVB Financial Group is the holding company for all business units and groups. © 2022 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, SVB SECURITIES, SVB PRIVATE, SVB CAPITAL and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under license. [SIVB-C]