Financing includes a grant of more than $5 million from The Michael J. Fox Foundation to advance a first-in-class neurovascular antibody across major neurological indications
LYON and CAEN, France, June 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lys Therapeutics, a French biotechnology company pioneering a novel approach targeting the tPA-NMDAr axis in neurodegenerative and neurovascular diseases, today announced that it has raised more than €25 million since its founding in 2021. Over the past five years, the company has achieved key preclinical, regulatory, manufacturing and translational milestones, positioning its lead candidate, LYS241, for clinical development.
LYS241 is a fully humanized, Fc-silent IgG1 monoclonal antibody designed to selectively block the pathological interaction between tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and NMDA receptors (NMDAr), while preserving physiological receptor function. By targeting this neurovascular pathway, LYS241 is intended to address mechanisms associated with blood-brain barrier dysfunction, neuroinflammation and excitotoxicity across Parkinson’s disease, synucleinopathies including multiple system atrophy, and ischemic stroke.
The financing includes a grant of more than $5 million from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, as well as support from Bpifrance, France 2030 and private investors.
The proceeds will support completion of regulatory studies, manufacturing readiness and the clinical entry of LYS241 through a biomarker-rich Phase 1a/1b program. The planned program is expected to include healthy volunteer cohorts and indication-specific patient cohorts designed to assess safety, pharmacokinetics and early proof-of-biology signals across priority neurological indications.
Recent preclinical data support the potential of LYS241 to address BBB dysfunction, neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative progression in Parkinson’s disease. In synucleinopathies, including multiple system atrophy, additional preclinical data further support the relevance of the approach. In ischemic stroke, LYS241 is being developed as a standalone or adjunctive therapy to standard reperfusion strategies, with the goal of improving reperfusion quality and reducing hemorrhagic and inflammatory complications.
“Raising more than €25 million in five years reflects strong confidence in our science, our execution and the broad therapeutic potential of LYS241,” said Dr. Manuel Blanc, CEO and co-founder of Lys Therapeutics. “This support enables us to complete the work required for clinical entry and pursue our ambition of translating a differentiated understanding of neurovascular biology into a new class of disease-modifying therapies for severe neurological disorders with substantial unmet medical needs.”
For more information: lys-tx.com
Full press-release: https://bit.ly/4uMYiU0
Contact:
gilles.petitot@acorelis.com
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SOURCE Lys Therapeutics
