University of St Andrews spin out Pneumagen has reorganized as a US-based company called NorthLinks Bio, the company said, though research will continue in Scotland. Pneumagen CEO Douglas Thomson has joined the board of the new company.
According to the announcement, the new company will use a $34 million financing from RA Capital Management to advance HEX17 (formerly Neumifil) multivalent carbohydrate binding module (mCBM) nasal spray to Phase 2b. NorthLinks says that proceeds will also go towards development of capabilities in the US.
In 2022, the Pneumagen announced positive results from a Phase 1 trial of the nasal spray. The following year, the company reported that a Phase 2 challenge study of Neumifil against influenza had met its primary and secondary endpoints. In 2025, Pneumagen announced that it was launching a platform called NeumoBind to offer increased residence time for intranasal protein formulations.
NorthLinks Bio CEO Fanny Cavalié commented, “Respiratory viruses continue to represent a significant global health burden despite the availability of vaccines and antiviral therapies. We believe there is a substantial opportunity for a convenient, broad-spectrum intranasal prophylactic capable of providing continuous protection across influenza strains and potentially other respiratory viruses. By targeting a validated host pathway, HEX17 is designed to provide broad protection that may remain resilient to viral evolution and support prophylactic use across respiratory virus seasons.”
Read the NorthLinks Bio press release
