BrainTale raises €4.5M to develop brain-decoding software
Tool can identify changes to brain's white matter
BrainTale raised €4.5 million (about $5 million) to speed further development of software that can decode changes in the brain’s white matter into information that can predict, diagnose, and monitor the progression of diseases such as Parkinson’s.
With this round of financing, led by investors Capital Grand Est and MACSF as well as business angels, the company plans to ramp up its expansion into the European and U.S. markets where the software tool can be used by doctors and researchers.
“This fundraising is a decisive step for BrainTale, and enables us to look forward with ambition to our next development milestones,” Julie Rachline, PhD, CEO of BrainTale and president of LallianSe, which supported BrainTale from its early days, said in a press release.
This fundraising reinforces the company’s strategy “to establish BrainTale’s brain measurement as a reference, in particular to enable drug developers to accelerate the development of new therapies in a more agile and efficient way, bringing a new dynamic in neurosciences,” Rachline added.
Parkinson’s occurs when some of the brain’s nerve cells (neurons) die or become impaired. Although many brain areas are affected, the disease’s hallmark symptoms result from the loss of neurons in the substantia nigra, a large gray matter structure. Gray matter is primarily composed of neuronal cell bodies and plays a crucial role in information processing and integration in the central nervous system.
White matter often overlooked in brain research
White matter, found deeper in the brain, consists of bundles of nerve fibers that communicate with one another. Perhaps because it appears to not be as affected as gray matter in diseases such as Parkinson’s, white matter is often overlooked in brain research.
However, it is known that changes to the white matter’s microstructure are linked to poor motor control and executive function impairment in people with Parkinson’s. In other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, these changes also seem to occur.
With sensitive and reliable measurements based on magnetic resonance imaging, BrainTale’s software, called BrainTale-care, identifies changes to white matter’s microstructure that can be used as biomarkers to predict, diagnose, and monitor disease progression or response to treatment.
It is offered as software as a service, a model where software is provided and accessed over the internet, typically on a subscription basis, without the need for users to manage or maintain the underlying infrastructure such as servers.
Biomarkers identified by BrainTale-care are expected to correlate with commonly used clinical scores, according to the company.
“We are delighted to be able to support BrainTale in this acceleration phase alongside MACSF and an experienced and talented management team. BrainTale offers a disruptive product that combines digital health with cutting-edge fundamental research, key ingredients for success,” said Virginie Miath, investment director at Capital Grand Est.
“BrainTale improves the practice of healthcare professionals and the quality of care by improving the prediction of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This round of financing will enable BrainTale to enter a new phase in its development,” said Sébastien Couvet, head of the MACSF Group’s e-health portfolio.
About the Author
