Alta Life Sciences and the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI) invest in new company that will develop portfolio of new medicines to address CNS diseases
Barcelona, Spain, May 26, 2020 – Accure Therapeutics, a new pharma R&D player in the Central Nervous System (CNS) field, announces today its launch with a Series A round of funding totalling €7.6 million ($8.1M). The funding round was led by Alta Life Sciences and supported by the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI). The company will develop a portfolio of new drug candidates to treat CNS diseases, supported by a seasoned team with solid pharma and biotech experience, who will run operations.
There is a huge unmet medical need for disease modifier medicines; treatments that can change the course of serious orphan and non-orphan CNS diseases. Accure Therapeutics, as a new pharma R&D engine specialized in CNS, follows a straightforward corporate model. This consists of integrating valuable assets, people, R&D programs and investors to power a strong R&D engine. It will build on existing assets to create further value for patients, doctors and shareholders.
The company will start work on three distinct new medicine programs focused on innovative targets (POP, MMP, IGF1), truly differentiated in its sector. The initial assets, ACT-01 ready for testing in a clinical phase 2 study and both ACT-02 and ACT-03 in preclinical experiments, have been sourced from two Spanish R&D companies (Bionure (1) and Iproteos (2)) and academic research centres with a strong scientific background in neurobiology. The initial portfolio will serve as the basis for further expansion towards additional innovative R&D programs to be developed in CNS indications.
“With a portfolio that initially focuses on four CNS disorders – Optic Neuritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and Epilepsy – we are confident that Accure will create significant value in a CNS sector with significant market potential and pharma appetite for innovative new medicine programs,” said Montserrat Vendrell, partner at Alta Life Sciences. “Accure Therapeutics will operate according to the efficient small R&D pharma model and its team will be best positioned to deliver value to patients, care-givers, doctors and the industry at large.”
“We are proud to announce the launch of Accure Therapeutics,” said Laurent Nguyen, founding CEO of Accure Therapeutics. “The high quality assets in our product portfolio have the potential to change the lives of patients living with disabling CNS diseases. Life is a gift, let us work hard to respect it.”
CNS disorders are a leading cause of disability and a major cause of deaths world wide, with prevalence set to increase due to an aging population. The CNS pharmaceutical market exceeds $80 billion (€73bn) per year and sustained growth is expected over the coming years (3).
About Alta Life Sciences
Alta Life Sciences is a leading venture capital investment firm headquartered in Barcelona, Spain that acts as investment advisor to the fund ALSS I FCR. The fund invests in companies at all stages of development: from seed financing through to commercial growth and in all areas of life sciences including biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, genomics and digital health. Altamar Private Equity SGIIC, a leading independent firm in the management of international private equity and other private assets, is ALSS I FCR’s management company. Alta Life Sciences is represented on the board of directors of Accure Therapeutics.
About the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI)
The CDTI is the body of the Spanish General State Administration that supports knowledge-based innovation; advising and offering public assistance for innovation through subsidies or partially reimbursable grants. The CDTI also internationalises R&D business projects, corporate innovation of Spanish companies and organisations, and manages the Spanish participation in international R&D organizations, such as Horizon 2020 and Eureka, and in the science and space industries. In addition, through the Innvierte Economia Sostenible initiative, it supports and facilitates the capitalization of technology companies.
About Accure Therapeutics
Accure Therapeutics, a private pharma R&D engine at clinical stage in the CNS field, was launched in 2020 with a Series A funding led by Alta Life Sciences and supported by the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI). The company develops a drug candidate portfolio in three programs (ACT-01, ACT-02, ACT-03) pursuing innovative targets that focus on four areas: Optic Neuritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and Epilepsy. Accure Therapeutics follows a straightforward corporate model, consisting of integrating valuable assets, people, R&D programs and investors to address the need for disease modifier medicines to treat CNS diseases. The current portfolio serves as the basis for further expansion towards more R&D programs and targeted indications.
(1) spin-off company from IDIBAPS-Hospital Clinic (Barcelona, Spain) and the Spanish National Council (CSIC)
(2) spin-off company from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, Barcelona, Spain) and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB)
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