TheThe French-Belgian company is the first spin-off of Argobio, a startup studio that Angelini Pharma founded with Kurma Partners, Bpifrance, Evotec, and Institut Pasteur
Elkedonia, a French-Belgian biotech startup that is developing a novel neuroplastogen for the treatment of drug-resistant depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders, attracted a seed round of 11.25 million euros from lead investor Kurma Partners, WE Life Sciences (a Wallonia venture investor), French Tech Seed fund, Bpifrance Life Sciences Venture (InnoBio), Argobio, Angelini Industries, Carma Fund, Capital Grand Est, Sambrinvest,and Angelini Ventures, part of Italian pharmaceutical firm (press release of Elkedonia and statement of Angelini Ventures).
Elkedonia will invests the raised proceeds in developing a new neuroplastogenic approach that can identify and improve small molecule drug-like molecules that can act on Elk1, a new intracellular target that until now was impossible to treat.
Kurma Partners and InnoBio 2, part of French national institute of investments Bpifrance, created Argobio in 2021. Angelini Pharma later acquired a 30% of the firm for 15 million. Argobio also attracted the investments of pharmaceutical research company Evotec and of the biomedical research center Institut Pasteur for a total 50 million fundraising since its birth (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Elkedonia is the first spin-off of Argobio which collaborates with European academic institutions for transforming early-stage discoveries into biotechnology companies with a focus on rare diseases, neuroscience, oncology and immunology.
Delphine Charvin, ceo and cofounder of Elkedonia and former operative partner of Argobio, said: “I am delighted to welcome our investors and want to thank all my colleagues at Argobio for their support in the creation of Elkedonia. Through our neuroplastogenic approach that cutting-edge neuroscientific research supported, we are able to have a significant impact on the treatment of major depressive disorders, bringing relief to all patients, including the young, the adolescent and the elderly. In addition, the development of specific biomarkers will allow us to focus on precision medicine for patient selection and monitoring of treatment efficacy.”
Fabrizio Calisti, M.D., Medical director of Angelini Ventures who will join Elkedonia board of directors, added: “We are excited to support Elkedonia’s groundbreaking work in neuroplastogens which represents a potential first-in-class approach for the treatment of depression. The innovative nature of Elkedonia’s target Elk1, previously considered undruggable, will allow the company to step ahed in the development of therapies for depression, and we are proud to be part of this transformative journey. Furthermore, this investment reflects Angelini Ventures’ commitment to supporting scientific research that European academic laboratories developed from the early stages through Argobio and for subsequent investments with our corporate venture capital fund to accelerate the transition from the research phase to the clinical phase, with a specific focus on innovation applied to mental health and central nervous system care.”
Angelini Ventures is born in 2022 and set a target of 300 million worth investments. The fund already poured 100 million in 21 biotech and pharmaceutical companies such as Cour Pharmaceuticals, Noctrix Health, Nouscom, Avation Medical, Pretzel Therapeutics, Cadence Neuroscience, Freya Biosciences, Neumirna Therapeutics, Nobi, Vantis, and Nuevocor.
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