Ysios Capital, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has announced its participation in the funding round of the North American company Engrail Therapeutics, for a total amount of $157 million. They have joined a prominent syndicate of investors led by F-Prime Capital, Forbion, and Norwest Venture Partners, with additional participation from RiverVest Venture Partners, Red Tree Venture Capital, funds managed by abrdn Inc., Longwood Fund, Eight Roads Ventures, and the existing founding investor, Pivotal Life Sciences.
Since its foundation in 2019, Engrail has raised over $220 million. This capital extension will allow Engrail to continue developing treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. Among them, medications for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress stand out. Additionally, Engrail is developing a treatment for Menkes syndrome, a severe rare neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects children.
The company's main product, ENX-102, is in phase 2 for the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a psychiatric disorder that affects millions of people and is the most common mental health problem in Spain, affecting 6.7% of the population.
Guillem Laporta, Partner at Ysios Capital: "The drugs developed by Engrail Therapeutics have the potential to provide a new pharmacological solution for prevalent mental disorders. There is significant room for improvement in the safety and efficacy profile of drugs in this field, a challenge that Engrail aims to overcome with its innovative treatments. We are delighted to be part of an exceptional syndicate and to support the brilliant team leading the company."
Current treatments for generalised anxiety disorder include medications such as benzodiazepines. The latter often have side effects that prevent patients from leading a normal life. The treatment developed by Engrail has the potential to effectively treat anxiety symptoms by reducing side effects.
Comments