Irish medical startup Inflamazome has raised €15 million in a new round of funding to develop treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases, from asthma and arthritis to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The Dublin-headquartered firm is aiming to develop inhibitors of inflammasomes, which generates signals in the body that cause immune cells to fight infections.

Though beneficial, they can also cause cells to become activated without control, resulting in unwanted inflammation.

Inflazome was founded by Professor Matt Cooper of the University of Queensland and Professor Luke O'Neill of Trinity College Dublin.

Prof Cooper said:

“Inflammasome activation is now implicated in many diseases driven by chronic inflammation, from Parkinson’s to asthma. These conditions are often inadequately treated by current therapies.

“We want to help people with debilitating diseases facing limited or no treatment options.”

After the closure of the funding round, Florent Gros, MD of Novartis Venture Fund, and Dr Manus Rogan, co-founder and MD of Fountain Healthcare Partners joined Inflamazome's board.

Dr Rogan commented:

“Considering the breadth and depth of possible applications, the commercial potential for a successful small molecule inhibitor of this key target is clearly in the billions of dollars range."