Rewind Therapeutics Secures Additional Financing to Advance Oral GPR17 Remyelination Program

• Financing will be used to advance Rewind's lead oral program designed to promote remyelination and restore neurological function 
• Peer-reviewed data published in PLOS ONE demonstrated remyelination and functional recovery following oral treatment with a selective GPR17 antagonist in preclinical models

LEUVEN, Belgium, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rewind Therapeutics ("Rewind"), a biotechnology company developing small-molecule therapies to restore myelin in demyelinating diseases, today announced that it has secured additional financing to advance the development of its lead GPR17 antagonist program, a potential disease modifying oral therapy intended to promote remyelination and restore neurological function in multiple sclerosis (MS).

MS is a chronic neurological disease characterized by damage to myelin, the protective coating surrounding nerve fibers. While currently available therapies can help control inflammatory disease activity, there are no approved therapies specifically designed to restore lost myelin and repair damaged nerves.

The financing marks an important milestone for Rewind as it advances its lead GPR17 antagonist program toward the clinic. The company plans to complete key IND-enabling studies while building on a growing body of preclinical and translational evidence supporting GPR17 as a potential therapeutic target for remyelination.

Jim Van heusden, Executive Chair of Rewind Therapeutics, said: “Having secured additional funding, we are well positioned to advance our GPR17 program towards its next value-inflection point. The recent data support both the biology and therapeutic potential of GPR17 antagonism and strengthen our confidence as we advance the program towards clinical development.”

In July 2026, Rewind scientists and collaborators at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Amsterdam UMC, published "Selective GPR17 antagonism enhances structural and functional recovery in animal models of demyelination" in PLOS ONE. The data showed that once-daily oral treatment with a selective GPR17 antagonist accelerated remyelination and improved functional outcomes in acute and chronic models of demyelination.

Irene Knuesel, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Rewind Therapeutics, commented: “While many approaches can demonstrate new myelin formation, the critical question is whether this translates into functional recovery. Our data show that oral GPR17 antagonism improves both nerve conduction along the visual pathway and cognitive performance, supported by human MS tissue findings that reinforce the underlying biology. As we advance our lead program through IND-enabling studies, emerging preclinical evidence also points to a broader role for GPR17 in metabolic regulation, including obesity.”

Post-mortem analysis of tissue from people with multiple sclerosis showed that GPR17-expressing oligodendrocyte precursor cells accumulate within and around demyelinated lesions, whereas remyelinated lesions exhibited little or no GPR17. These findings support the role of GPR17 as a key negative regulator of myelin repair. In acute and chronic cuprizone models, once-daily oral treatment with a selective Rewind GPR17 antagonist accelerated remyelination of the corpus callosum and optic nerve. Importantly, treatment also resulted in functional recovery, including normalization of visual evoked potential (VEP) latency delays and improved spatial memory performance.

Rewind’s management team will be available for meetings at:

• Optimum Strategic Communications’ 18th Annual Healthcare Investor Conference, October 8, 2026, London, UK
• BIO-Europe 2026, November 9–11, 2026, Cologne, Germany
• Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, November 16–19, 2026, London, UK

To request a meeting, please contact information@rwdtx.com or rewind@optimumcomms.com.

Reference: De Herdt D, Lefevere E, Brouwers V, et al. (2026). Selective GPR17 antagonism enhances structural and functional recovery in animal models of demyelination. PLOS ONE 21(7): e0354525. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354525

For more information, please contact:

Rewind Therapeutics
Jim Van heusden, Executive Chair
Email: information@rwdtx.com

Optimum Strategic Communications
Zoe Bolt, Nellie Stephens & Katherine Bliss
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3882 9621
Email: rewind@optimumcomms.com

About Rewind Therapeutics

Rewind Therapeutics develops oral small-molecule therapeutics aimed at re-initiating remyelination in patients with debilitating neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis. These diseases share a common feature: loss of the myelin sheath, the protective layer that insulates nerve fibres. Rewind's lead programme targets GPR17, a key regulator of oligodendrocyte maturation, with the goal of restoring the central nervous system's intrinsic capacity to repair myelin. Rewind's team combines extensive R&D expertise with a strong patent estate in remyelination therapeutics. Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, Rewind is backed by leading life-science investors, including Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, M Ventures, PMV, Golgi Neurosciences, Sunstone Life Science Ventures, Gemma Frisius Fonds and CD3, KU Leuven. For further information, please visit: https://rwdtx.com/