Navion Neurosciences, Inc., a preclinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation, precision sodium channel therapeutics for neurological diseases, today announced the $10.8M first closing of a Seed financing, led by the Angelini Lumira Biosciences Fund with participation from 3B Future Health Fund, UVA LVG Seed Fund, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, VTC Innovation Fund, and Navion management.
Proceeds from the financing will support advancement of Navion’s lead programs in genetic epilepsy and chronic neuropathic pain, as well as continued development of the company’s NaViGATion™ platform, which integrates AI-enabled chemistry, structural biology, human disease biology, and deep ion-channel expertise to discover and optimize differentiated sodium-channel medicines.
Navion is developing therapies designed to address pathological neuronal hyperexcitability, a key driver of uncontrolled seizures and chronic pain. The company is applying its integrated discovery approach to develop medicines intended to achieve more precise modulation of disease-relevant sodium-channel activity, with the aim of dramatically improving the therapeutic window associated with traditional approaches that broadly modulate this important biological target.
“Human genetics and advances in sodium-channel pharmacology are creating an opportunity to design much more precise medicines for diseases driven by pathological neuronal firing,” said Andrew J. Krouse, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Navion Neurosciences. “This financing enables us to advance differentiated programs built around compelling NaV biology while continuing to expand a discovery platform capable of generating multiple new medicines. We are building on our team’s deep knowledge and expertise in ion-channel science and drug development to develop better treatments for patients living with uncontrolled seizures and chronic pain.”
Navion is led by an experienced management and scientific team with decades of expertise in neuroscience, medicinal chemistry, ion channel biology and drug development. Members of the leadership team previously built Cavion, a neurology-focused ion-channel company acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2019.
“Navion combines compelling insights into disease biology with a focused approach to sodium-channel pharmacology and a team with demonstrated experience in the ion-channel field,” said Gerry Brunk, Managing Partner at Lumira Ventures. “Harnessing frontier-level AI tools has rapidly enabled the company to unlock some profound new insights for drug discovery in this field. We believe Navion is well positioned to develop important new medicines for patients with severe neurological diseases and to establish a broader precision sodium-channel discovery platform.”
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