Levicept: Modulating NGF

Levicept Ltd.'s p75NTR-Fc could provide the analgesic effect of nerve growth factor inhibitors to treat pain in osteoarthritis without the side effects that have sidelined the class in recent years. This potential made Levicept the first company to graduate from Index Ventures' seed-stage incubator, the Index Nursery, and the company is now raising a series A round.

Pfizer Inc. initially developed p75NTR-Fc; however, the pharma shelved the program when it shuttered its Sandwich, U.K., R&D facility in 2011. Ex-Pfizer employee Simon Westbrook, now Levicept's CEO, approached Index with the idea of forming a virtual company around the asset, which the biotech acquired from Pfizer on undisclosed terms...