Inra spinout Nextbiotix has attracted capital from the institute itself as well as Biocodex and other institutional investors.
Nextbiotix, a France-based biopharmaceutical spinout from Inra, has raised €7m ($8.2m) in series A funding from investors including the agricultural research institute itself.
Auriga Partners led the round, while pharmaceutical company Biocodex and Cap Innov’Est, a regional investment vehicle managed by French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, and private equity firm Sofimac Innovation also took part.
Founded in 2016, Nextbiotix is working on microbiome-based treatments for major inflammatory bowel diseases. The spinout’s approach relies on single microbial strains that interact with cells in the human gut.
The company is based on research by Harry Sokol, professor of gastro-enterology at Sorbonne University and hospital system AP-HP, Philippe Langella, microbiologist and research director at Inra’s centre in Jouy-en-Josas and Patrick Gervais, professor emeritus of process engineering at University of Burgundy and agricultural research institute AgroSup Dijon.
Benjamin Hadida, CEO of Nextbiotix, said: “I am particularly proud to see Nextbiotix coming out of the ground of the longstanding relationship we have established with Auriga Partners over the last year and a half.
“The support of our incubators Paris Biotech Santé and Wilco was also pivotal in this success. Together we have managed to assemble a very robust and complementary team of investors bringing a wide range of expertise to the table.
“We are delighted to have raised a first round of financing significant enough to support our efforts in bringing a revolutionary new class of medicines, called Live Biotherapeutics, to patients.”
