Acurastem Inc. has secured $4 million in grant funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to facilitate the development of its UNC13A program toward clinical trials for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Acurastem Inc. has raised nearly $7 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to advance research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia.

Acurastem Inc. said on Sept. 25 that it struck an out-licensing deal potentially worth $580 million with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop drugs for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other PIKfyve gene-targeting therapeutics. Under the terms, Tokyo-headquartered Takeda obtains exclusive worldwide rights to Acurastem’s PIKfyve-targeting therapeutics, including Acurastem’s lead AS-202 asset, an antisense oligonucleotide therapy to treat ALS.

Acurastem Inc. has entered into a license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. to develop and commercialize Acurastem’s PIKFYVE-targeted therapeutics, including AS-202, an innovative antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).