Convergen, a biotechnology company pioneering targeted protein degradation (TPD) therapies for diseases driven by pathological protein aggregates,  announced the closing of a $15 million Seed+ financing round. This round was led by MPCi, with participation from LAV, BioTrack Capital and a leading biotech fund. Prior to this round, the company raised $10 million in a seed financing round led exclusively by Qiming Venture Partners.

The proceeds will be used to further advance Convergen's proprietary degrader platform and accelerate its pipeline for neurodegenerative disorders and other protein aggregation diseases.

"We are grateful to the distinguished group of investors and their confidence in our science, platform and team," said Dr. Jinquan Sun, CEO of Convergen. "We have made significant progress in advancing our protein degradation platform. This financing will enable us to accelerate our lead asset toward the clinic while continuing to advance our pipeline, with the goal of bringing new therapeutic options to patients with neurodegenerative diseases and beyond."

Addressing a Critical Unmet Need
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's represent one of the largest unmet medical needs globally, with pathologic protein aggregation at the core. Convergen's scientific founder Prof. Ting Han, whose laboratory reported the first TRIM21 molecular glue, established the proof-of-concept of the first TrimTAC degrader (November 2024 in Cell) which targets protein aggregopathies by exploiting TRIM21's unique property. Beyond neurodegeneration, TrimTAC has demonstrated potential in selectively degrading other targets for autoimmune diseases.

MPCi said: 
"Convergen's degrader platform is truly differentiated in the targeted protein degradation landscape. Matrix Partners China has long adhered to an investment philosophy of 'investing early, investing in high barriers, and investing in differentiation,' with a focus on the application potential of breakthrough technology platforms across disease areas. We are highly confident in the extensibility of Convergen's original platform and in the team's ability to translate scientific discovery into clinical drugs. We look forward to partnering with the company to advance novel therapeutic options to patients worldwide."