INVERSAGO-PHARMA
8.9.2020 14:02:07 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Inversago Pharma Inc. (“Inversago” or “the Company”), the peripheral CB1 blockade company, today announced it has secured a US$35 million (€32 million) Series B financing round led by Forbion, with co-investment from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and strong participation from existing investors Genesys, JDRF T1D Fund, Amorchem, Anges Québec Capital, adMare BioInnovations and angels.
Proceeds will be used to develop Inversago’s best-in-class peripherally-acting CB1 inverse agonist candidate INV-101 to clinical proof-of-concept, and advance the research on other selected compounds.
Clinical and scientific data suggest that the peripheral CB1 pathway is activated in a majority of metabolic and fibrotic diseases, including Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), NASH, type-1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy; conditions with currently inadequate treatment options. CB1 inhibition has previously shown to be an effective clinical treatment in several diseases and conditions, albeit with a CNS liability related to the central CB1 blockade. Inversago compounds are peripherally-acting only, thus adopting a safe and potent approach.
“Today’s financing is a recognition of the progress achieved over the past two years by our team,” said François Ravenelle, PhD, CEO and founder of Inversago Pharma. “We are privileged to have secured the financing from a transatlantic syndicate of leading and committed investors like Forbion and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. It allows the Company to make important strides towards its objective of leveraging the full medical potential of a peripheral CB1 blockade,” added Dr. Ravenelle.
In conjunction with this financing, Inversago appointed Carlo Incerti, MD, an Operating Partner at Forbion, as Chairman of the board of directors, Marco Boorsma, PhD, a General Partner at Forbion, and Patricia Allen, a biotech leader, as directors of the Company. Ms. Allen will also serve as Chair of the Audit Committee.
“I am delighted to join Inversago when the Company is transitioning from the pre-clinical stage to the first human trials,” said Carlo Incerti, MD, Chairman of the board of directors. “The science behind the CB1 pathway is extremely sound and documented and Inversago’s compounds could be very impactful in therapeutic areas that are largely unmet, like metabolic dysfunctions and fibrosis. Importantly, the peripherally-acting nature of these molecules could give them a safe and effective therapeutic window, without the known liabilities of centrally-acting blockers,” concluded Dr. Incerti.
Dr. Incerti brings to Inversago over three decades of development and commercialization experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. After a successful scientific career and prior to joining Forbion, Dr. Incerti was Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Medical Affairs at Sanofi Genzyme.
Dr. Boorsma adds over 20 years of scientific, operational, business development and venture investment expertise to the Company. He manages Forbion’s Canadian investments and serves on the boards of several other bio-pharmaceutical companies.
Ms. Allen is a recognized biotech finance and operations leader who raised over US$2B in financings and business development deals during her career. She served most recently as Chief Financial Officer at Zafgen, Inc., now Larimar Therapeutics. She currently holds positions on the boards of Yumanity Therapeutics and Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, where she is also the audit committee chairperson.
“I am thrilled to join the board of Inversago, one of the few companies that remains focused on developing a treatment for people with PWS, for which I remain truly passionate,” said Ms. Allen. “I look forward to working with the other directors and the entire team at Inversago to advance their new generation of CB1 blockers in PWS and other important diseases, where the unmet medical needs remain very high. I also look forward to lending my biotechnology and public company experience and expertise at such an exciting time as the Company advances towards the clinic,” added Ms. Allen.
About Inversago Pharma
Inversago Pharma is a preclinical-stage, biotech company specialized in the development of new therapies focusing on CB1 blockade, based on first-in-class, peripherally-acting, CB1 inverse agonists. The Company aims to provide new treatment options that improve the lives of patients affected by metabolic conditions such as Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), type 1 diabetes (T1D) and diabetic nephropathy. For more information, visit inversago.com
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion’s investment team has built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 66 companies. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.25 billion across ten funds. Forbion is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), AMUF and EFSI facilities and KfW Capital through the Programme, “ERP – Venture Capital Fondsinvestments”. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany. For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com .
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ (fondsftq.com ) is a capital development fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments. With net assets of $13.8 billion as at May 31, 2020, the Fonds has helped create and protect 221,267 jobs. The Fonds has 3,329 partner companies and 707,935 shareholders-savers.
Picture of our CEO and company logotype available for download at: inversago.com/en/media/
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200908005305/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Medimaps Group and Radiobotics Announce Strategic Merger to Expand AI-Driven Musculoskeletal Imaging Portfolio2.3.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
Radiobotics to join Medimaps Group, creating a global provider of AI-driven musculoskeletal (MSK) medical imaging software The transaction is expected to close following receipt of Danish foreign direct investment (FDI) approval and other customary closing conditions Together, they will bridge the gap between preventative bone health and acute trauma diagnostics, offering an expanded portfolio across X-ray and DXA: Fracture detection, opportunistic bone fragility assessment, and fracture risk prediction The combined entity will have a commercial reach in 90 countries through a robust network of direct and partner channels Both organizations will maintain their established brands, supported by close R&D and commercial collaboration Medimaps Group S.A., a global leader in AI-driven bone microarchitecture imaging solutions, and Radiobotics ApS, a leader in AI-powered MSK radiology solutions, today announced that they have entered into a strategic merger agreement. Closing of the transacti
Takeda and Protagonist Announce U.S. Food and Drug Administration Accepts New Drug Application and Grants Priority Review for Rusfertide as a Potential First-in-Class Therapy for Polycythemia Vera2.3.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release
Rusfertide Demonstrated Significant Improvements in Hematocrit Control, Phlebotomy Reduction and Patient Reported Outcomes for Patients with Polycythemia Vera in a Pivotal StudySubmission Primarily Based on Phase 3 VERIFY Study, in Which Rusfertide Plus Standard of Care More Than Doubled Clinical Response Rates, as Well as Four-Year Efficacy and Safety Data from Phase 2 REVIVE/THRIVE StudiesPrescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) Target Action Date is in the Third Quarter of this Calendar Year Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) and Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (“Protagonist”) (NASDAQ:PTGX) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the New Drug Application (NDA) and granted Priority Review for rusfertide. Rusfertide is an investigational, first-in-class hepcidin mimetic peptide therapeutic for the treatment of adults with polycythemia vera (PV). The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date in the third quarter of this calendar year. In addi
Quectel Expands Mid-tier 5G Portfolio with New RedCap 3GPP Release 17 Variants2.3.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release
Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global end-to-end IoT solutions provider, today announces the expansion of its 5G RedCap portfolio with the launch of the RM255C-GL for global markets and the RG255C-NA for the North America market, further strengthening its mid-tier 5G offering for worldwide deployments. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260301754857/en/ Quectel expands mid-tier 5G portfolio with new RedCap 3GPP release 17 variants As 5G expands further into industrial and IoT domains, the need for solutions that combine strong performance with cost efficiency is becoming increasingly critical. Positioned between high-speed eMBB and narrowband NB-IoT, 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability) has emerged as the ideal technology to address this mid-tier connectivity gap. With a comprehensive product portfolio and global deployment expertise, Quectel enables a seamless transition for mid-speed IoT applications moving toward sca
Thales sets a world first in quantum-safe security for 5G networks2.3.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release
Thales has successfully demonstrated a world-first innovation that prepares 5G networks for the age of quantum computing, marking a major milestone for the global telecommunications industry. The collaboration with a top tier mobile operator, showed that existing 5G SIM / eSIM cards already deployed in the field can be securely upgraded to quantum-safe protection, without disrupting service or impacting the customer experience. This Post-Quantum Cryptographic (PQC) breakthrough proves that mobile networks can evolve their security through crypto agility to address quantum cyber threats. Quantum computing has the potential to break today’s encryption methods in the future, putting mobile communications, personal data and critical infrastructure at risk. For telecom operators, this is not a distant theoretical issue: 5G networks underpin everything from smartphones and connected vehicles to emergency services, industry and national infrastructure. This press release features multimedia.
NHOA Energy Announces Two Major MACSE Battery Projects2.3.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release
The projects reinforce NHOA Energy’s leadership in the Italian market NHOA Energy, global provider of utility-scale energy storage systems, has been awarded two new Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects in Italy by a leading independent platform in the renewables and energy transition sector, with a total MACSE-contracted capacity of about 600 MWh and a total power of 90 MW. The two projects, located in Campania and Sardinia, represent NHOA Energy’s first systems awarded under MACSE (Meccanismo di Approvvigionamento di Capacità di Stoccaggio Elettrico), Italy’s new capacity mechanism dedicated to long-duration storage, and a milestone in the company’s growth in the national energy storage market. The projects, financed by a pool of top-tier Italian and international financial institutions, reaffirm NHOA Energy’s centrality as technology supplier and turnkey contractor in the Italian BESS market, built on extensive local and international experience, breadth of resources, intima
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom