Medical Device Developer EnClear Spins Out of QurAlis

EnClear Therapies, a medical device company focused on developing therapeutic systems that continuously clear toxic proteins from cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) for the treatment of neurological diseases, today announced that it has spun-out from QurAlis Corporation, a biotech company focused on developing precision therapeutics for ALS and other neurological diseases. EnClear’s mission is to halt the progression of disease and extend the lives of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) by removing toxic proteins that build up in the brain and spinal cord, significantly impacting neurodegeneration.
 
“During our discovery process of causative gene mutations in ALS, we realized that some of the mutated proteins transcribed from these genes cause not only loss of function issues but that the mutations make them in fact specifically toxic and that this toxicity spreads through the brain and spinal cord causing neuronal death,” said Kasper Roet, Ph.D., CEO of QurAlis and Co-Founder of EnClear. “When looking for ways to clear these toxic proteins from the circulation, we decided to create a device that would continuously circulate the CSF, filtering out the toxic proteins. This device is the basis for the formation of EnClear and will hopefully be able to help not only ALS patients but also patients with many other neurological diseases.”
 
EnClear is headed by Anthony R. DePasqua, M.B.A., a strategic business leader with 20 years of demonstrated success in the medical device industry. The company resides at LabCentral’s Kendall Square laboratory facility in Cambridge.
 
“Patients with ALS have very few therapeutic options. The devastating effects on patients and their families, as well as the financial burden on society, creates a need for finding new ways to treat ALS and other neurological diseases. Our understanding of these diseases has improved exponentially in recent years thanks to the identification and study of the human genome and related biology. QurAlis has been at the forefront of these new discoveries and EnClear has been spun out to create therapeutic devices based on this knowledge,” said Anthony R. DePasqua, M.B.A., co-founder and CEO of EnClear. “A device that can continually access CSF and clear it of toxic proteins has the potential to help numerous patient populations in a safe and effective manner.”
 
EnClear has also announced it will present at the Biotech Showcase 2019 conference, occurring January 7-9, 2019 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco. DePasqua is scheduled to present on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, 3:10 PM, Track: Franciscan C (Ballroom Level).
 
William B. Gormley, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., EnClear’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, and Director, Neurosurgical Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, stated: “EnClear’s unique approach to ALS has the potential to provide treatment options for patients suffering from this devastating disease in the next 2 years. I’m excited to partner with such an exemplary team and help facilitate the development of this groundbreaking device and therapy.”