Vancouver-based CereCura Nanotherapeutics, a University of British Columbia (UBC) spinout, has secured $1.4 million CAD in seed funding to advance a new approach for treating neurological diseases using lipid nanoparticle (LNP) RNA technology—the same delivery platform that enabled Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines.
The company aims to overcome one of neuroscience’s biggest challenges: delivering therapeutic proteins across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). CereCura claims early success in rodents, demonstrating effective delivery of multiple proteins into the brain—an essential step toward treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and neuronopathic Gaucher disease.
With the new capital, the team plans to validate the therapeutic impact of its lead candidate in rodents and pursue studies in larger animal models.
A COVID-era breakthrough repurposed for the brain
Co-founder and CEO Louis-Philippe Bernier, formerly a neuroscientist at UBC, believes LNP-RNA delivery will reshape treatment for numerous diseases, not just those affecting the brain:
“We see LNP-RNA as something that will transform the way we treat many diseases, not just neurological ones.”
CereCura was co-founded with Dr. Pieter Cullis, the UBC scientist who invented the LNP technology behind the global rollout of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The company’s approach applies a “twist” on the original LNP-mRNA model to deliver RNA blueprints that enable the brain to produce therapeutic proteins internally—effectively bypassing the BBB’s restrictive gatekeeping.
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Funding and origins
The all-equity round, closed in September, was led by WUTIF Capital with participation from eFund, UBC Venture Funds, Hextwo Capital, and several angels. The raise brings CereCura’s total funding to $2.2 million, complemented by more than $4 million in government grants to date.
Bernier said that moving from academia into biotech entrepreneurship was driven by a desire for tangible clinical impact:
“Academic research is full of discovery, but it’s hard to fix what goes wrong in the brain. With LNP-RNA, we saw a technology that could finally make a real difference.”
Targeting diseases long out of reach
CereCura’s lead program targets neuronopathic Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder caused by a single missing enzyme, glucocerebrosidase. While enzyme replacement therapy exists, it cannot effectively reach the brain. CereCura’s LNP-based “Trojan horse” delivers RNA that instructs brain cells to manufacture the missing enzyme themselves—achieving a much longer half-life than traditional injections.
Additional programs explore LNP-enabled delivery of protein therapeutics for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, where multiple beneficial proteins have already been identified.
Investor confidence
Aaron Stuart, COO of WUTIF Capital, said:
“We were incredibly impressed by the team, their accomplishments, and their vision for the future. CereCura is pursuing a noble mission with huge upside potential.”
He added that Cullis’ involvement brings invaluable expertise for the long road to commercialisation.
Looking ahead
CereCura aims to build a pipeline of multiple preclinical drug candidates, leveraging what Bernier calls a highly versatile technology platform.
“The tech is flexible enough that we can develop several assets relatively quickly,” he said.
With early proof of feasibility and fresh capital in hand, CereCura is positioning itself to become a leader in LNP-delivered therapies for the brain—an area where traditional drug approaches have repeatedly fallen short.
