A-Mansia metabolises $15.7m series A

A-Mansia Biotech, a Belgium-based microbiome research spinout from Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) and Wageningen University and Research, raised €13m ($15.7m) in initial series A funding on Friday.

The amount represents a first close and was provided by investors including Fonds Vives II, the university venture fund of UCL. The spinout has not revealed a target amount for the round.

VC firm Seventure Partners led the round, which also featured state-owned regional development vehicle Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie, Groupe Nivelinvest and angel investor Pierre Drion.

Additionally, A-Mansia has secured a $3.6m grant from the Walloon government.

Founded in 2016, A-Mansia Biotech is commercialising a strain of gut bacteria called Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) that has the potential to offset metabolic disorders and inflammatory conditions resulting from cardio-metabolic problems such as excessive visceral fat and insulin resistance.

The spinout has isolated the portion responsible for A. muciniphila’s medical benefits and is currently conducting its first human exploratory study at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, a hospital affiliated with UCL.

Patrice Cani, a group leader at UCL’s Leuven Drug Research Institute, discovered the approach alongside Willem de Vos, a professor in Wageningen’s Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences.

The capital will be used to progress a nutritional supplement based on A. muciniphila and other pharmaceutical assets based on the bacteria’s active components.

Eric de la Fortelle, venture partner at Seventure whose focus includes Benelux investments, will join A-Mansia’s board of directors.

De Vos said: “We discovered this unique symbiont when searching for intestinal bacteria that have an intimate relationship with us. It is exciting to be progressing A. muciniphila to the next level and to be able to contribute to people’s quality of life.”