# Muna Therapeutics

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/muna-therapeutics  
**Vertical:** BioTech  
**Subcategory:** Neuroscience  
**Tier:** Emerging  
**Website:** munatherapeutics.com  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Muna Therapeutics raised $75M in 2024 targeting microglial biology in Alzheimer's disease, using iPSC-derived microglia models to identify novel drug targets that modulate brain immune function.

## Company Overview

Muna Therapeutics focuses on microglial biology — the specialized immune cells of the brain — as the key to developing disease-modifying Alzheimer's therapies beyond amyloid targeting. The company uses induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia as disease models to identify and validate novel drug targets implicated by Alzheimer's genetics (TREM2, PLCG2, BIN1, APOE). This platform enables the company to study microglial dysfunction at scale and run drug screens against human-relevant cellular models.

Founded in Copenhagen in 2020 with co-founders from the UK Dementia Research Institute, Muna raised $75M in 2024 and is advancing multiple small molecule and antibody programs targeting TREM2 agonism and related microglial activation pathways. The company's approach differs from antibody-based TREM2 programs (Alector, Vigil Neuroscience) by pursuing oral small molecules that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

With Alzheimer's affecting 55 million people worldwide and limited options beyond recently approved anti-amyloid antibodies, microglial biology represents one of the most genetics-validated unexplored therapeutic avenues. Muna's iPSC platform advantage enables rapid target validation cycles that outpace traditional neuroscience drug discovery timelines.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Muna Therapeutics' focus?
Muna develops drugs targeting microglial biology in Alzheimer's disease, using iPSC-derived microglia to identify novel small molecule and antibody drug candidates that modulate brain immune function.

### What makes Muna's approach different from other Alzheimer's companies?
Muna focuses on oral small molecules targeting TREM2 and related microglial pathways, differing from anti-amyloid antibodies (Leqembi) and from antibody-based TREM2 programs by pursuing blood-brain barrier-penetrant oral drugs.

### What genetic evidence supports Muna's approach?
Multiple Alzheimer's risk genes (TREM2, PLCG2, BIN1) are specifically expressed in microglia, providing strong human genetics validation for microglial biology as an Alzheimer's therapeutic target.

### What specific Alzheimer's targets does Muna Therapeutics pursue?
Muna Therapeutics focuses on neuroinflammation and microglial biology in Alzheimer's disease — targeting the TREM2 pathway and other innate immune receptors that govern how brain microglia respond to amyloid and tau pathology. The rationale is that dysfunctional microglia fail to clear amyloid and instead become neurotoxic, driving the neurodegeneration that causes cognitive decline. Muna's approach complements amyloid-targeting therapies by addressing the inflammatory component of the disease.

### How much has Muna Therapeutics raised?
Muna Therapeutics has raised significant Series A and B funding from European biotech investors including Jeito Capital, Novo Holdings, and other life science venture firms. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen and Basel, reflecting its Scandinavian and Swiss scientific origins with access to both European capital markets and translational research infrastructure.

### What clinical development stage is Muna at?
Muna Therapeutics is advancing lead small molecule and antibody programs through IND-enabling preclinical studies, targeting IND filing for Phase 1 first-in-human studies in the 2025-2026 timeframe. The company's scientific validation comes from human genetics — TREM2 loss-of-function variants (including the R47H variant) are among the strongest genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's, providing strong human genetic validation for the target.

### Why is the microglial/neuroinflammation approach considered promising?
Human genetic data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has revealed that the strongest Alzheimer's risk genes outside of APOE are expressed primarily in microglia — implicating neuroinflammation as causal rather than consequential. The failures of pure amyloid-targeting approaches (despite clinical benefit of lecanemab and donanemab, they do not halt progression) suggest that addressing neuroinflammation alongside amyloid is necessary for meaningful disease modification.

### What is Muna Therapeutics' scientific differentiation?
Muna's scientific team includes pioneers of human genetics-driven target identification in neurodegeneration, with deep expertise in TREM2 biology specifically. The company has built proprietary assays measuring microglial function in human iPSC-derived systems and human post-mortem brain tissue, enabling target validation and compound optimization against disease-relevant cellular models rather than relying solely on mouse models that have poorly predicted Alzheimer's drug outcomes historically.

## Tags

healthtech, technology, startup, b2b, global

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*