The biotechnology company Minoryx Therapeutics has obtained 25 million euros in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), with the aim of supporting the development of innovative therapies to address rare neurodegenerative diseases with unmet medical needs. This investment from the European Union bank will allow the creation of more than 50 jobs during the implementation phase.
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The EIB will provide long-term financing to Minoryx Therapeutics, based in Tecnocampus de Mataró, to boost its research and development activities for genetic diseases with no approved medication. Specifically, the investments will focus on Minoryx Therapeutics' main asset, the drug leriglitazone, a treatment that is being evaluated in three clinical trials.
The main study is Advance, focused on adrenomyeloneuropathy, a progressive neurodegeneration of the spinal cord that causes progressive motor dysfunction. The Nexus study addresses cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, which mainly affects children between two and twelve years old and is characterized by brain inflammation leading to rapid cognitive decline and death. Finally, the Frames study analyzes Friedreich's ataxia, a life-threatening disease consisting of neurodegeneration that causes loss of coordination and muscle strength, and cardiomyopathy.
The European bank will finance Minoryx Therapeutics through a venture debt operation within the framework of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), a financing instrument that supports leading companies in innovative research sectors. Since its creation in 2016, this initiative has provided more than 2 billion euros to projects in sectors such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine.
A "clear support" for the potential of leriglitazone
The co-founder and CEO of Minoryx Therapeutics, Marc Martinell, explained that the clinical studies with leriglitazone "continue to advance" and "remain on track" to be able to communicate preliminary results from Advance before the end of the year. For his part, the company's CFO and general manager of the subsidiary in Belgium, Didier Le Normand, defended that the EIB's long-term investment represents "clear support" for the potential of this drug to improve the lives of many patients.
The EIB's long-term investment represents "clear support" for the potential of leriglitazone to improve the lives of many patients, according to Minoryx Therapeutics CFO Didier Le Normand.The European Commissioner for Economy,Paolo Gentiloni, has stated that the coronavirus pandemic has shown "how important it is to expand the limits of scienceand have medicines for rare diseases." For this reason, Gentiloni has assured that the European Commission "will take every opportunity" to continue supporting the efforts of companies in this area. Likewise, EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix has maintained that the investment in Minoryx Therapeutics will contribute to improving the competitiveness of the European pharmaceutical industry and will generate highly qualified jobs.