Iproteos secures 1.5 million euros to advance development of a drug to combat cognitive impairment in schizophrenia
<p>The financing round was led by Caixa Capital Risc with the participation of Kinled Holding and biotechnology firm ASCIL Biopharm</p>
Iproteos, a spin-off of the IRB Barcelona and the Universitat de Barcelona, has just closed a financing round of 1.5 million euros which it will invest in the pre-clinical regulatory phase of a drug to treat Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia (CIAS), one of the few being developed to halt its development and to reverse this symptom of the disease.
Caixa Capital Risc led the investment, in which Kinled Holding also participated, a private family group who have already invested in other companies in the life sciences sector, such as Astra Zeneca, Novartis and Medtronic, and the biotechnology firm based in Barcelona ASCIL Biopharm, which specializes in new therapeutic systems for controlled drug release.
Since it was founded in 2011, Iproteos has mobilized over 3 million euros in public and private funds, including this latest round, with which it expects to complete the financing of the pre-clinical stage and to begin the clinical trials of phase I and IIa. Following the effectiveness test in patients, the firm aims to license the compound to a large pharmaceutical firm. According to the firm, several companies have expressed interest in the molecule, which has proven its effectiveness as a cognitive enhancer in in vivo trials, showing an improvement in the capabilities of learning and memory affected by schizophrenia, which is not the case when current treatments are administered.
Founded by Teresa Tarragó (current CEO) and Ernest Giralt, expert scientists in the field of therapeutic peptides, the firm developed the drug using their own technology, IPROTech, which allows innovative drugs to be obtained more rapidly and at a lower cost through a combination of IT and biotechnology tools. The platform designs innovative therapeutic molecules called peptidomimetics.
In addition to this project in the area of schizophrenia, Iproteos is also developing other drugs to treat therapeutic targets, considered inaccessible up until now, in epilepsy and atherosclerosis, among other diseases of the central nervous system.
Related news:
- Introducing 'Spark', a new public-private project to develop a drug to fight cognitive impairment in schizophrenia (29.01.2015)
Iproteos launches groundbreaking equity crowdfunding campaign (04.07.2014)