Oniria Therapeutics closes €1.28 million seed funding round - Capital-Riesgo.es
Summary
This will allow the company to continue advancing development of ONR-001, a first-in-class drug for eliminating persistent tumour cells that remain after conventional treatment. Persistent or latent cells are the seed of patients relapse and metastasis and therefore responsible for 90% of all cancer deaths.The transaction was led by Mind the Gap, t h e Botin Foundations biotechnology entrepreneurship programme, with participation from BStartup of Banco Sabadell, plus business angels and public funding (Startup Capital of ACCI\xd3-Government of Catalonia; Torres Quevedo of Ministry of Science and Innovation; and Investigo of AGAUR-Government of Catalonia).Oniria Therapeutics was established in 2021 as a spin-off of the Vall dHebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), University of Barcelona (UB) and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). The project also draws on the extensive experience in the field of drug discovery and translational medicine contributed by Dr Xavier Barril, ICREA research professor at the UB, and Dr Carles Galdeano, Serra H\xfanter professor at the UB.Oniria Therapeutics has conducted preclinical studies on various drugs activators of TET2, proving their efficacy in animal models for colon cancer, melanoma and acute myeloid leukaemia. TET2 is a Achilles heel of persistent tumour cells, and Onirias new drugs are attacking specifically such vulnerability.According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the main cause of death worldwide. Now, nearly sixty years later, the Botin Foundation helps promote the comprehensive development of society by exploring new ways to detect creative talent and support it to generate cultural, social and economic wealth.