Evotec has spun out Topas Therapeutics, which is working on treatments for conditions including MS, also contributing to a series A round.
Germany-based biopharmaceutical startup Topas Therapeutics was spun out of drug discovery company Evotec yesterday with €14m ($15.7m) of series A financing.
Evotec was among the investors in the round, which also featured venture capital firms Gimv, Epidarex Capital and EMBL Ventures. Epidarex, which counts pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly as a backer, led the round while Gimv provided €4m of the funding.
Topas is working on technology that will treat autoimmune diseases, allergies and drug-induced immune reactions through the induction of antigen-specific immune tolerance. It is licensed from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, the teaching hospital of Hamburg University.
The capital will go towards expanding the company’s platform and accelerating the development of treatments for conditions including multiple sclerosis (MS) towards clinical testing. Phase 1 studies for MS are expected to begin next year.
Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec and interim chairman of the Topas supervisory board, said: “Topas has the potential for ground-breaking products in the area of tolerance induction and will bring this approach to clinical execution with its great team.
“This company formation gives Evotec and its shareholders an optimal risk-reward leverage in the field of immunological disorder.”
Partners inn Evotec include pharmaceutical producers MedImmune/AstraZeneca, Roche, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer and Genentech.
