NEW YORK – Biotech firm Sunbird Bio said Wednesday that it has raised $14 million in a financing round to support the development of its blood-based tests for neurological disorders.
The funding was provided by new investors Eli Lilly and the strategic investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board as well as existing investors ClavystBio, Polaris Partners, and S32.
Sunbird said that the money will help the firm to develop its diagnostic testing platform to aid the diagnosis and treatment of conditions including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The company, which has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in Singapore, noted that it plans to open a new laboratory space and start new clinical studies of its technology in early 2025.
"This funding will enable us to accelerate the clinical development of our blood-based platform, which will offer physicians and patients multiple advantages as compared to currently available tests," Sunbird CEO and Executive Chair John McDonough said in a statement.
Sunbird said that its testing technology can be used for the direct detection and monitoring of low levels in the brain of disease-specific proteins including amyloid beta, tau, and alpha synuclein. The company and collaborators at the Florey Institute, a brain research center in Australia, recently reported preliminary study results that show Sunbird's tests could be used to detect tau accumulation, which is a sign of Alzheimer's disease.
The firm also noted on Wednesday that it is in talks with biopharma companies and other potential partners about the use of its technologies for patient enrollment, longitudinal monitoring, patient stratification, and target engagement.