ANA Therapeutics is a technology company.
ANA Therapeutics has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round.
ANA Therapeutics has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
ANA Therapeutics has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
ANA Therapeutics's investors include A Capital, Album VC, AME Cloud Ventures, Chloe Sladden, Atomic, Balderton Capital, CASC Ventures, Change Ventures, Cisco Investments, Compound, First Round Capital, FTAC Ventures.
ANA Therapeutics was a biotechnology company developing ANA-001, a proprietary oral capsule formulation of niclosamide targeted at treating COVID-19 by reducing viral load, inflammation, cytokine dysregulation, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and coagulation issues to improve clinical outcomes like hospital discharge.[2][3] It served patients with coronavirus infections, addressing the urgent need for accessible antiviral treatments during the pandemic via a 505(b)(2) pathway that leveraged prior niclosamide data for faster development.[2] The company showed early momentum with FDA IND clearance for a Phase 2/3 trial enrolling 400 patients across 10 U.S. sites, but was acquired by NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals on December 31, 2020, integrating ANA-001 into NeuroBo's pipeline with data readouts expected in Q3 2021.[2][3][7]
Founded rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ANA Therapeutics emerged to repurpose niclosamide—a known antiparasitic drug with prior safety data—as an oral antiviral therapy.[3][5] Akash Bakshi served as CEO, leading the effort to advance ANA-001 into clinical trials.[2] Pivotal early moments included U.S. FDA clearance of its IND application for a multi-center Phase 2/3 trial and involvement with investors like SOSV, highlighting quick traction amid the global health crisis.[3][7]
ANA Therapeutics rode the COVID-19 biotech wave, exemplifying crisis-driven innovation in drug repurposing amid market forces like urgent demand for oral antivirals beyond vaccines or IV therapies.[2][5] Its timing capitalized on the 2020 pandemic peak, when repurposed drugs offered faster deployment than novel compounds, influencing the ecosystem by demonstrating viable paths for small biotechs to contribute to global responses via accelerated trials and acquisitions.[2][3] The NeuroBo acquisition underscored how such startups amplified impact by joining larger platforms with clinical and regulatory expertise.[2]
Post-acquisition, ANA Therapeutics' legacy lives on through NeuroBo's advancement of ANA-001, though 2021 trial readouts and subsequent pandemic evolution likely shifted priorities toward enduring antivirals or new indications.[2] Emerging trends like long COVID treatments or broad-spectrum virals could revive niclosamide's potential, evolving its influence from pandemic responder to platform for future respiratory threats. This story highlights biotech's agility, tying back to how crisis-born ventures like ANA can deliver high-impact therapies at scale.
ANA Therapeutics has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in August 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2020 | $5.0M Seed | A Capital, Album VC, AME Cloud Ventures, Chloe Sladden, Atomic, Balderton Capital, CASC Ventures, Change Ventures, Cisco Investments, Compound, First Round Capital, FTAC Ventures, Future Positive Capital, General Catalyst, Golden Ventures, Green Generation Fund, Grit Ventures, Hardware Club, Helium-3 Ventures, Incite Ventures, Kickstart Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matter Venture Partners, Mayfield, Next47, Northpond Ventures, Offline Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Polaris Partners, Reach Capital, Refactor Capital, Sandbox Industries, SOSV, SV Angel, Team Builder Ventures, Tencent Holdings, Tet Ventures, UpHonest Capital, Y Combinator, Apoorva Ruparel, Ben Davenport, DJ Patil, Eric Feng, George Godula, Gerhard Eschelbeck, Jaan Tallinn, James Berdigans, Janis Krums, Justin Mateen, Mantas Mikuckas, Oliver Friedrichs, Peter Preston, Rob May, Stefan Ciecierski, Vishal Rao |