Belgium-based drug developer Syndesi Therapeutics has raised €17m ($21m) in a series A round from investors including Vives Louvain Technology Fund, the university venture fund of Université catholique de Louvain (UCL).
V-Bio Ventures, an investment affiliate of research institute VIB, also backed the round, which was co-led by pharmaceutical firm Novo’s early-stage investment arm Novo Seeds and VC firm Fountain Healthcare Partners.
The round further included healthcare company Johnson & Johnson’s corporate venturing arm Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, and Walloon government-owned investment firm Société régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie.
Syndesi Therapeutics was spun out of biopharmaceutical firm UCB earlier this month. The company hopes to develop treatments for a range of diseases caused by synaptic dysfunction, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The funding will enable Syndesi to move its lead compound into clinical development and through to early proof-of-concept studies in humans.
Vives Louvain Technology Fund is managed by Sopartec, the tech transfer office of UCL.
Philippe Durieux, chief executive of Sopartec – Vives, said: “For two years Vives Louvain Technology Fund has helped in creating the spinout by contributing its know-how in founding high tech startups.
“This investment illustrates our willingness to prioritise and accelerate scientific breakthroughs in domains as complex as Alzheimer’s disease by uniting actors from academia, industry and public service.”
