The venture capital firm specializing in biotechnology Ysios Capital has invested in a financing round of the U.S. biotech Neurona Therapeutics. The San Francisco company has raised a total of 120 million dollars with the operation, aimed at the development of a treatment linked to epilepsy. With its participation in the round, the firm with offices in Barcelona and San Sebastián has made a place for itself among large international investors.
The round in which Ysios Capital participated was led by the global firm Viking Global Investors LP, which manages more than 46 billion dollars in capital. It co-led the round alongside Cormorant Asset Management, which moves more than 3 billion. The Column Group also participated in the round along with other new and existing top-tier international investors. Among them are Lyfe Capital, Schroders Capital, Willett Advisors, Euclidean Capital, SymBiosis, Alexandria Venture Investments, Berkeley Frontier Fund, Sphera Biotech Master Fund LP, Spur Capital Partners, UCB Ventures, and UC Investments.
Ysios Capital, which has more than 400 million euros in assets under management, has participated in the round through its Ysios BioFund III fund. It has done so with the aim of contributing to the company's capital increase in a Series E round, aimed at advancing the development of its own cell therapy targeting multiple indicators. With its investment in the round, the firm founded in 2008 positions itself among major international investors. Its participation also contributes to giving visibility among these investors to the growing biotechnology ecosystem of the Catalan capital and its surroundings. In fact, Barcelona is positioned as the second best European location for investment in the biotech sector.
Neurona Therapeutics' innovative therapy also has potential applications to combat Alzheimer's and other nervous system disordersThe therapy that Neurona Therapeutics is evaluating in a clinical trial is aimed at treatment of a type of epilepsy that represents an unmet medical need and is highly debilitating for the patient. Specifically, it is drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Of the more than 50 million people worldwide who suffer from epilepsy, 30% suffer from epilepsy that does not respond to pharmacological treatment. This condition implies a greater risk of premature death, trauma, psychosocial alterations, and cognitive deterioration that harms the quality of life of those who suffer from it.
Certain patients with this type of epilepsy may resort to surgery on the damaged temporal lobe, but this option is not effective for all patients and carries significant adverse effects. Neurona Therapeutics seeks to address this situation through a regenerative neuronal cell therapy derived from stem cells. Administered in a single dose, the transplanted cells integrate into the epileptic region of the brain and durably silence seizure activity.
This innovative therapy, which the company develops from San Francisco and under the influence of California's Silicon Valley, also has potential applications to combat Alzheimer's and other nervous system disorders. The clinical trial is yielding promising data: treated patients have experienced a reduction of up to 95% in seizures, at least 12 months after treatment administration.
"The clinical results obtained to date demonstrate the great potential of this therapy," according to Ysios Capital partner Jordi Xiol. He highlighted the fund manager's participation in this operation, stating that "the exceptional transatlantic syndicate of investors backing Neurona is a clear sign of the company's strength," which aims to contribute to the development of medical innovations that positively impact society.