Boehringer Ingelheim has announced its investment in Nuevocor to accelerate the preclinical development of an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy for patients suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) due to mutations in the lamin A/C (LMNA) gene.

Headquartered in Singapore, Nuevocor is a privately held preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing AAV gene therapy for the treatment of genetically-defined cardiac diseases with high unmet need. The company also plans to address other untreatable cardiomyopathies using their novel target discovery platform.

Nuevocor’s founding CEO, Dr Yann Chong Tan stated: “We are delighted to have Boehringer Ingelheim join us in developing gene therapy-based treatments that have the potential to restore cardiac function in diseased hearts. The current standard of care for dilated cardiomyopathy only serves to delay disease progression, and the only cure is to have a heart transplant. At Nuevocor, we hope give patients a new lease of life through our technology.”

“The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund is committed to investing in new treatment concepts that can address highly unmet medical needs. Nuevocor is trying to apply a very innovative and challenging approach using gene therapy for the treatment of genetically-driven, dilated cardiomyopathies. We are excited to see that the company is exploiting the potential of genetic suppressors to change the course of these diseases and hopefully to significantly extend the life span and improve the life quality of DCM patients,” said Dr Weiyi Zhang, Managing Director of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund Asia. 

Through this investment, Boehringer Ingelheim will join EVX Ventures and several other investors to become shareholders of Nuevocor.