Synendos Therapeutics, a Basel, Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of small molecules aimed at restoring the natural functioning of the endocannabinoid system in the brain with the potential for treating a wide range of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders, raised CHF20m in Series A financing.
The round was co-led by Kurma Partners and Sunstone Life Science Ventures with participation from BERNINA BioInvest, Schroder Adveq, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Lichtsteiner Foundation, Essential Investments, Zürcher Kantonalbank and private investors.
Currently in preclinical development, proceeds from the financing will be used to complete this development and advance Synendos’ lead drug candidate through safety and proof of concept studies in a relevant and well-defined disease indication, as part of early/initial clinical trials.
Led by Dr Andrea Chicca, co-founder and CEO, Synendos is developing first-in-class inhibitors that modulate a newly identified drug target in the body’s endocannabinoid system, enabling restoration of endogenous cannabinoid levels that are suppressed in certain pathological conditions. The endocannabinoid system is a key neuromodulator system in the CNS involved in regulating various physiological and cognitive processes. The company’s newly developed selective endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitors (SERIs) act by increasing the levels of endogenous cannabinoids in a self-limiting mode of action, representing a potentially safer therapeutic approach to CNS disorders associated with anxiety, mood and stress-related disorders.
Incorporated in April 2019, Synendos Therapeutics was spun out of the University of Bern and the research consortium, NCCR TransCure. The novel technology derives from 10 years of research on endocannabinoid biology and pharmacology carried out at the university led by co-founders, Professor Jürg Gertsch and Dr Andrea Chicca. The research team – led by Professor Jürg Gertsch – is dedicated to drug discovery in the endocannabinoid system.
Dr Peter Neubeck of Kurma Partners, Dr Søren Lemonius of Sunstone Life Science Ventures and Dr Bettina Ernst of Bernina Bio Invest will join Synendos Therapeutics CEO, Dr Andrea Chicca, and co-founder, Dr Simon Russell on the Board of Directors.
Synendos has been part of BaseLaunch from inception through to Series A funding.
FinSMEs
12/11/2020