- Specialist fund SCI Ventures, backed by major spinal cord injury foundations, together with existing investors, also participated in this round
- Proceeds will finance phase 1b/2a study of EG110A through safety and early efficacy results
- Opens way for clinical development across multiple medically important neuro-urology pathologies
- Funding will also support the company’s early-stage pipeline based on its proprietary HERMES vector technology platform.
EG 427, a biotechnology company leading the development of pinpoint genetic medicines for prevalent chronic diseases in neurology, announced today the successful closing of a €27 million Series B financing round co-led by Andera Partners and Bpifrance – as part of the InnoBio investment strategy.
“The successful closing of this Series B financing is a major milestone for EG 427, which brings us the strong support of two major institutional investors, Andera Partners and Bpifrance, participation of the specialist fund, SCI Ventures, and the continuous support of our existing investors. Genetic medicine solutions have the potential to address major medical needs affecting large patient population with chronic diseases. Initially, our focus is on pathologies in neuro-urology. This field is currently underserved and lacks significant recent medical innovations, despite its huge costs to the healthcare systems. This funding allows us to advance our first program focussed on dysfunctions of the bladder, such as neurogenic bladder, through its initial clinical trial. This first human study, currently in progress, will provide a read on safety and possibly early efficacy,” said Philippe Chambon, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at EG 427.
“As a world leader in developing non-replicative HSV vectors in neurology, EG 427 has the potential to significantly advance the applications of genetic medicine through highly targeted delivery and local administration. In addition, EG 427’s platform could enable repeated dosing and more affordable production costs compared to AAV based vectors. If successful, this approach could offer a better and longer-term therapeutic solution for patients who suffer from chronic neurological diseases,” said Benoît Barteau, Investment Director at Bpifrance – InnoBio funds.
“EG 427’s technology has the potential to significantly disrupt current treatment paradigms. The lead programme EG110A could significantly improve treatment options for a range of underserved neuro-urology indications. We are thrilled to have co-led this financing round to advance EG110A in the clinic and EG 427’s broader genetic medicine pipeline,” said Raphaël Wisniewski, Partner at Andera Partners.
The proceeds from the financing will be used to fund the phase 1b/2a development of EG 427’s lead genetic medicine product, EG110A, for the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. This US study could open the way for clinical development across a series of medically important but neglected neuro-urology pathologies affecting millions of patients.
The financing will also support expansion of EG 427’s pipeline with several therapeutic vectors based on its unique HERpes Modular Expression System (HERMES) technology. In these targeted diseases, this technology has the ability to maintain long-term activity and achieve low cost of goods, which should provide strong medical and economic value to the healthcare systems.
MTS Health Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to EG 427 in this financing round.