Important injection of funds for Nuage Therapeutics, a spin-off of IRB Barcelona and ICREA founded by researchers Xavier Salvatella, Mateusz Biesaga and Denes Hnisz and whose CEO is entrepreneur Judit Anido. The company, which has developed a new drug discovery platform, has closed a 12 million euro seed round led by European venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners and Barcelona-based manager Asabys, which has supported Nuage since its inception in 2021.
"When we met the scientific founders of Nuage, we were impressed with the potential of their science and quickly wanted to help them create the next big revolution, providing novel treatments for difficult cancer indications," explains Clara Campàs, managing partner and co-founder of Asabys, which has executed the investment through its two vehicles, Sabadell Asabys and Asabys Top Up Fund. The financing round has also had the support of BStartup and Innvierte, the investment program of CDTI Innovación.
Nuage Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops "a drug discovery engine" that allows targeting or modulating the so-called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) ---related to cancer--- with small drug-like molecules. According to the founders of the Barcelona-based startup, until now this type of proteins were considered "undruggable" due to their lack of structure. Through the disruptive technological platform developed by Nuage, they now become a "perfect target" to address the treatment of a large number of patients with diseases that until now had no cure. According to the company, its technology arises "from the convergence between biophysics and chemical biology" and leverages the phenomenon of biomolecular condensation.
"IDPs, which play fundamental cellular functions, are involved in numerous human diseases. Despite having been historically neglected and considered undruggable, they are perfect targets. Our approach has the potential to enable the treatment of a large number of patients with unmet diseases. We are excited to have been able to attract such solid investors, which reinforces our conviction that Nuage could lead the way in targeting IDPs," explained Anido, who joined Nuage as CEO in May 2022.
According to the company, its main research program is currently focused on castration-resistant prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men. "Our goal is to develop a robust product pipeline for other currently untreatable indications," emphasizes Nuage, which is headquartered at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB). Part of the technology developed by the company has been financed by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) and the "La Caixa" Banking Foundation.
Sofinnova's first investment in Spain
Sofinnova Partners, which has subscribed the bulk of this 12 million euro investment, has offices in Paris, London, and Milan and focuses its investments on health and sustainability companies. The venture capital firm was founded in 1972, making it one of the oldest in the sector, with investments in more than 500 companies throughout its history and managed funds that currently exceed 2.5 billion euros. "The investment in Nuage Therapeutics represents a milestone for Sofinnova Partners as it is our first investment in Spain. We are excited to expand our presence across Europe and partner with such a promising biotech company. Nuage's cutting-edge drug platform aligns perfectly with our mission to support innovative life science companies, and we look forward to working closely with the team to drive advances in the field of cancer therapy," said Maina Bhaman, partner at Sofinnova Partners.