Stockholm-based Gesynta Pharma has raised €26.5 million (SEK 304 million) in a Series B funding round led by Innovestor Life Science, with participation from Hadean Ventures, Industrifonden, Linc, Foreground Capital, Catalyze Capital, Stephen Industries, and Amboy Street Ventures. The Stockholm-based biotech company is advancing vipoglanstat, a non-hormonal drug candidate targeting inflammation in endometriosis, a condition affecting millions of women worldwide. The funding will support a Phase II clinical trial in Europe, enrolling 190 patients to assess the drug’s safety and effectiveness. With existing treatments often proving inadequate or causing significant side effects, the trial will evaluate vipoglanstat’s potential as a disease-modifying alternative.
Endometriosis, a painful chronic inflammatory disease, significantly impairs the health and quality of life for over 10% of women of reproductive age. Tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, forming endometriotic lesions. This causes chronic pelvic pain as well as pain during menstruation, intercourse, urination and bowel movements. The symptoms often emerge in young adulthood, impacting education, career, and fertility. Current first-line treatments, including pain medications and hormonal contraceptives, provide inadequate relief for many patients or cause intolerable side effects which leaves a major unaddressed medical need for safe and effective novel therapies.
Gesynta Pharma is developing vipoglanstat, a novel non-hormonal drug candidate for the treatment of endometriosis. Vipoglanstat targets mPGES-1, an enzyme upregulated in endometriotic lesions that drives both pain and lesion progression. Preclinical data have shown a marked reduction of endometriotic lesions and pain following treatment with vipoglanstat. The drug candidate has also demonstrated a favorable safety profile in previous clinical studies.
“Endometriosis forces millions of women to endure severe pain and other life-altering symptoms for years or even decades. Groundbreaking research revealing the central role of inflammation in the disease has opened promising new therapeutic pathways, bringing us closer to efficacious treatments without the side effects associated with current hormone-based therapies. Vipoglanstat represents a breakthrough in this frontier of novel non-hormonal treatment development,” comments Professor Linda Giudice, MD, PhD, a renowned international expert on endometriosis at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
“This SEK 304 million funding round marks a pivotal milestone for Gesynta Pharma, demonstrating strong international investor confidence in our approach to treating endometriosis. With these funds, we will advance vipoglanstat towards being Phase III-ready, aiming to provide patients with a disease-modifying treatment option that overcomes the efficacy and tolerability limitations of current therapies,” says Patric Stenberg, CEO of Gesynta Pharma.
The upcoming European Phase II trial of vipoglanstat will enroll approximately 190 patients suffering from endometriosis. The trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of two dose levels of vipoglanstat against placebo over four months’ administration.
Pekka Simula, Partner at Innovestor Life Science comments: “The substantial medical need for improved treatments of endometriosis combined with the commercial potential of vipoglanstat presents a compelling investment opportunity, and we are delighted to support Gesynta Pharma in the development of this potentially game-changing drug candidate.”
Roger Franklin, Chairman of Gesynta and partner at Hadean Ventures says: “We are delighted to close this round of financing which will enable Gesynta to take its potentially transformational therapy through Phase II clinical development in endometriosis. We believe there are many important unmet needs in women’s health, including critically in endometriosis, and are excited about the role Gesynta can play in addressing this. We look forward to continue working with the fantastic team at Gesynta and thank Innovestor for leading this financing.”
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/gesynta-pharma-raises-e26-5m-series-b/
