Cambridge’s TRIMTECH Therapeutics brings Seed round to €41 million for neurodegenerative disease work

Jun 23, 2026 - 13:00

TRIMTECH Therapeutics, a Cambridge-based BioTech company developing novel small molecule therapies that target and degrade protein aggregates associated with neurodegenerative diseases, has raised an additional €12 million ($14 million) in Seed funding to progress its proprietary platforms and differentiated portfolio.

The financing was led by Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venture capital organisation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., and BGF, who join existing investors. This brings the total for the round to €41 million ($47 million) – following a previous raise.

Dr. Nicki Thompson, CEO, TRIMTECH Therapeutics, says: “We welcome JJDC and BGF as investors in our Seed financing round and thank them for their support. This additional funding allows us to forge ahead with developing our portfolio of CNS penetrant degraders based on our unique platforms.”

TRIMTECH’s Seed extension sits within a 2026 funding environment in which capital has continued to flow into European BioTech companies working on CNS disease, targeted protein modulation, drug discovery infrastructure and adjacent therapeutic platforms.\

The closest sector comparables include Laigo Bio’s €17 million Seed round for protein degradation and Ternary Therapeutics’ €4.1 million Seed round for AI-designed molecular glues, while CNS-focused activity includes Aerska’s €32 million raise, Exciva’s €51 million Series B for Alzheimer’s-related drug development, and Gate2Brain’s €7 million investment for brain tumour and CNS delivery work.

UK activity is also visible through Ternary, Houdini Bio and Cambridge-based Nuclera, indicating that TRIMTECH’s extension is part of a wider UK and European pattern of funding for platform-led BioTech.

“TRIMTECH has incredibly strong scientific foundations combined with a world leading team augmented by a globally recognised investor syndicate – I’m excited to work with this exceptional group, to deliver the next phase of growth for the company,” adds Dr. Thompson.

Founded in 2023, TRIMTECH is creating novel, highly selective, small molecule targeted protein degraders, to combat neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.

Their founding team includes Leo James, PhD FRS (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology) and Will McEwan, PhD (UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Cambridge), with Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) and SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) in conjunction with their joint entrepreneur-in-residence, Dr. Damian Crowther.

Founded on decades of pioneering academic research into the protein TRIM21, a novel E3-ligase, the company has reportedly demonstrated its ‘TRIMTAC’ and ‘TRIMGLUE’ degraders can recapitulate degradation seen with other modalities (vectors and antibodies) whilst leaving the functional monomeric form of the target protein intact and able to support healthy cellular function.

TRIMTECH’s approach opens up small molecule approaches for indications that affect very large populations, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

With over 55 million people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and millions more battling other neurodegenerative disorders, this innovation has the potential to transform the course of treatment for these patients.

Following today’s Seed extension round, representatives from JJDC and BGF, will join TRIMTECH Therapeutics Board as non-executive directors.

The post Cambridge’s TRIMTECH Therapeutics brings Seed round to €41 million for neurodegenerative disease work appeared first on EU-Startups.