Andera Partners has led a $55m funding round for Dynacure, co-founded by Satt Conectus to commercialise research from the Institute of Genetic and Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Dynacure, a France-based biotechnology spinout from the Institute of Genetic and Molecular and Cellular Biology, raised €47m ($55m) in funding yesterday from investors led by Andera Partners.
French government-owned investment bank Bpifrance also took part in the round, as did Pontifax, Kurma Partners and IdInvest Partners.
Founded in 2016, Dynacure is working on Dyn101, a treatment for centronuclear myopathy, a group of rare and often fatal conditions that cause muscle weakness and wasting. Dyn101 is being developed in collaboration with drug developer Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
The company was co-founded by Satt Conectus, the regional tech transfer office for institutions in Alsace, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Kurma Partners. It builds on research led by Jocelyn Laporte at the Institute of Genetic and Molecular and Cellular Biology.
The money will go towards the further clinical development of Dyn101 and preclinical research programs targeting other orphan disorders.
Satt Conectus, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners supplied an undisclosed amount of funding in 2016, followed by an injection of undisclosed size by Bpifrance in 2017.
Satt Conectus had supported the project’s early development with a total of €441,000 ($515,000) in funding, supplied over three tranches between 2013 and 2015.
Nicolas Carboni, president of Satt Conectus, said: “The example of Dynacure perfectly illustrates the purpose of Satt Conectus: to identify promising scientific discoveries at the heart of public research laboratories, to secure and facilitate their development and to guide them to market, generating growth and jobs in our region.
“Developing a drug candidate in six years from a scientific discovery is a feat. Without the major investment of Conectus – almost €450,000 – the technology would probably never have been developed.
“It is also fresh proof that the co-founding formula proposed by Conectus is attractive for manufacturers and pays for all the partners involved in the adventure.” [translated from French by Global University Venturing]