Oryzon Genomics closes €27-millions round of funding
<p>The company has signed loan agreements with banking institutions on top of the €16.5-millions capital increase at the end of last year</p>
Oryzon Genomics, a Catalan biopharmaceutical company that uses epigenetics to develop therapies for oncology and neurodegenerative diseases, has closed a round of funding opened in July 2015, valued at a total of €27 millions.
They were able to reach this milestone after receiving several long-term loans from different banking institutions for a total of €10.5 millions, which is on top of the €16.5-millions capital increase the company received between 24 July and 13 October last year, by floating private stock.
Oryzon CFO Enric Rello believes this round of funding shows the confidence investors and banks have in the company, even though the results of this type of business –in the biotechnology sector– are normally analyzed several times a year and future projections are always subject to certain risks.
Additionally, Rello confirms that the capital raised ensures the company can carry out their epigenetics R&D activity this year knowing they are financially stable. The company will continue working to develop programs that can be licensed to large multinational pharmaceutical corporations, as they did with their first molecule to treat the Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which they licensed to Roche and is currently in phase I/II A clinical trials.
Recently, Oryzon launched a clinical trial on the molecule ORY-2001 to treat Alzheimer at Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona after receiving approval from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices. The company is continuing research to show that the molecule is effective in treating other neurodegenerative diseases.
In the meantime, they still have their sights set on the Nasdaq, where they hope to float shares next year. For the moment, they've already gone public on the Spanish market, where the company is valued at €96 millions.