MaaT Pharma announces €10 million fundraising
MaaT Pharma announces €10 million fundraising and pursues the development of the first worldwide autologous microbiotherapy solution
The investment transaction, led by CM-CIC Innovation with Seventure Partners, the pharmaceutical firm Biocodex and the Inra, will allow the start-up to enter the clinical phase. MaaT Pharma is developing a medicine providing treatment for dysbiosis following major treatment against cancer and certain infections
Lyon, March 22, 2016 – MaaT Pharma, a reference for the microbiome industry, is announcing a significant €10 million fundraising operation within the context of its series A. This will notably allow the company to finance the launch of its clinical studies, to begin this summer, with the objective of developing an innovative medicine for correcting dysbiosis following the treatment of diseases such as leukaemia or bone and joint infections. These developments will also allow research to progress in the field of the human microbiome, an area in which France is at the cutting edge and which opens up new prospects regarding the prevention and treatment of several chronic and infectious diseases.
The transaction brings together scientific, industrial and financial players: Seventure Partners and the Inra, MaaT Pharma’s historic partners, joined today by CM-CIC Innovation, leader for this second round and the pharmaceutical company Biocodex, which specialises in the therapeutic domains of gastroenterology, neuropsychiatry and pain treatment. This significant investment bears witness to the scientific, therapeutic and economic potential of research on the microbiome.
“This fundraising transaction confirms the relevance of our autologous approach, which distinguishes MaaT Pharma from its competitors. It also rewards the quality and rigour of the work carried out. I would like to thank the team for its commitment, as well as our investors for their faith in us. We are very proud that we will be able to strengthen our relations in this way with our historic partners and initiate a collaboration with new investors,” commented Hervé Affagard, CEO of MaaT Pharma.
Laureate of the Worldwide Innovation Challenge (phase 2)[1] and being part of the 10 finalists of the international start-ups acceleration program Big Booster[2], MaaT Pharma is developing the first safe and standardised autologous microbiotherapy solution, in conformity with the good clinical pharmaceutical practice. This solution will allow to treat dysbiosis in hospitalised patients in a specific and individualised manner. The imbalances of the microbiome following certain extensive treatments have the notable consequence of the emergence of opportunistic infections, such as Clostridium difficile or Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria. These are the most frequent causes of diarrhea following a hospital stay. In the medium term, the autologous microbiotherapy platform developed by MaaT Pharma will permit the extension of its range of products for other therapeutic areas, for example blood cancers.
This €10 million fundraising operation is in line with MaaT Pharma’s initial development plan and will be accompanied by new hirings in forthcoming months.
“We found MaaT Pharma’s way of thinking particularly seducing, as it combines an autologous approach with an industrial, quantifiable and reproducible process, therefore in line with the medical world’s hopes and the patients’ needs. The Inra’s partnership was also a key element for us, as it is very smooth and efficient. We are thrilled to be able to work along such a talented team and to help promote a new therapeutic approach,” added Karine Lignel, Deputy CEO of CM-CIC Innovation.
“This Series A financing round confirms Seventure’s initial decision to support MaaT Pharma from its inception. As the European leader in microbiome-related investment, and thanks to the Health for Life fund, first fund focused on the microbiome, Seventure has the means to support MaaT Pharma, as well as numerous other innovators in this field, towards creation of treatments for patients in need. If MaaT Pharma’s initial studies are successful, this will open possibilities for many more products, in indications ranging from inflammation to cancer,” said Isabelle de Crémoux, CEO of Seventure Partners.
“Drawing on its expertise in the field of intestinal microbiota, Biocodex is delighted to support the development of MaaT Pharma in its innovative and original project to correct dysbiosis. This cooperation aims to provide new therapeutic solutions via the autologous transplantation of intestinal microbiota in the event of illnesses or treatments which have seriously altered it,” indicated Jean-Marie LEFEVRE, CEO of Biocodex.
"We are delighted with our partnership with Maat Pharma and with this fundraising which confirms the legitimacy of the autologous approach. Our goal is to accelerate the development of the inventions of Inra laboratories with our industrial partners. Maat Pharma will be able to implement at the patient's level the scientific approaches developed within the Micalis and MetaGenoPolis units in a scientific field at the heart of the strategic priorities of innovation of Inra" comments Rejane Le Tinévez, Executive director of Inra Transfert.
MaaT Pharma’s ambition: to embody a new medical paradigm
Since its creation at the end of 2014, MaaT Pharma has undergone exponential development. After a first fundraising round of €2 million, carried out in December 2014, MaaT Pharma has already validated the safety and the dose of its drug candidate, during pre-clinical trials carried out in 2015 in partnership with the Inra. The start-up has also just completed the prototyping of a unique solution, allowing the collection of the sampled microbiome and guaranteeing the safety of all of the players (patient, operator, medical staff) until the administration phase.
MaaT Pharma has set itself the objective of being a player in the emergence of a new medical paradigm around the role played by the intestinal microbiome in health and well-being. Its priority action lines relate to the correction of dysbiosis and associated complications, the eradication of Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria, the prevention of nosocomial diseases, the re-establishment of key functions of the intestinal microbiome and the stimulation of the immune system and restoration of metabolic functions.
About MaaT Pharma
MaaT Pharma (Microbiota as a Therapy) is a French biotech start-up, created at the end of 2014, to treat serious diseases linked to imbalances in the intestinal microbiome. It has developed the first treatment solution based on autologous microbiotherapy. MaaT Pharma envisages a first therapeutic application for patients suffering from leukaemia and Bone & Joint Infections, whose major treatment contributes to dysbiosis. Funded jointly by a team which brings together world-class medical-scientific and entrepreneurial skills, MaaT Pharma has the ambition of becoming a leader in microbiome protection and the treatment of dysbiosis.
For more information: www.maatpharma.com
Follow us on Twitter: @MaaT_Pharma
Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/maat-pharma
Key dates of MaaT Pharma
December 2014: creation
July 2015: €2 million fundraising
September 2015: winner of the International Innovation Awards
November 2015: validation of the pre-clinical phase of its autologous microbiotherapy solution
February 2016: selected for the TOP10 Big Booster (final in April 2016)
March 2016: €10 million fundraising
About
CM-CIC Innovation is a subsidiary of CM-CIC Investissement, the Crédit Mutuel - CIC group's investment and merchant bank division. With more than 2.6 billion Euros worth of equity under management and over 600 portfolio companies, CM-CIC Investissement is a key player in capital investment in France, backed by its own equity resources.
CM-CIC Innovation is specialized in investment and support for high-potential growth companies, with strong technology expertise, in the first stages of their development. It finances firms positioned on sectors such as life sciences, information technology, industrial innovations or environment.
For more details: www.cmcic-¬investissement.com
About
With over €600m in assets under management as of the end of 2015, Seventure Partners is a leading venture capital firm in Europe. Since 1997, Seventure Partners has invested in innovative businesses with high growth potential in digital technologies, especially fintech & assurtech, in France and Germany, and in the life sciences field across Europe and North America. In life sciences, the four areas of focus include biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, connected health and medtech, industrial biotechnology, and last but not least: the MICROBIOME, nutrition, foodtech and personalized medicine. Investments can range between €500k and €10m per round, or up to €20m per company, from early to late stage. In December 2013, Seventure Partners successfully launched Health for Life Capital™ which has attracted strategic investments from prestigious organizations including Danone, Tereos, Tornier, Lesaffre, Bel and Novartis as well as entrepreneurs and financial institutions.
Seventure is a subsidiary of Natixis Global Asset Management. Natixis is the corporate investment management and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest French bank.
For more details: www.seventure.com
About
Biocodex is an independent family-owned pharmaceutical company, founded in Paris, France in 1953. The company initially concentrated on gastroenterology and specifically on the discovery of a promising probiotic substance, Saccharomyces boulardii (sold under the ULTRA-LEVURE brand in France). Biocodex has maintained partnerships with health sector professionals for 60 years, with the mission of developing intelligent solutions that respond to contemporary healthcare issues. Biocodex has become a multinational research and development, manufacturing and marketing company. The company is currently active in over 100 countries, with subsidiaries in Belgium, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, Mexico, the United States and through partnerships with distributors. Today, Biocodex specialises at international level in the therapeutic domains of gastroenterology, neuropsychiatry and pain treatment.
For more details: www.biocodex.fr/en/
About
A subsidiary of the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique [National Institute of Agricultural Research], Inra Transfert is a project engineering and technology transfer company for innovation in food, agriculture and the environment.
In its role of providing a link between research and society, Inra Transfert carries out five major missions:
Transferring research results to companies by developing and managing its portfolio of technologies via operating agreements with industrialists;
Promoting the creation of innovative companies by supporting their development;
Support in setting up, negotiating and steering European or national collaborative research projects by virtue of its expertise in engineering management projects;
Designing, promoting and managing major research and development programmes,
Providing resources to the eco-technology sector by creating a fluid interface between public research laboratories and the financial world.
For more details: www.inra-transfert.fr/en/
Press Contact:
Xavier Cayon
Agence Ekno
+33 6 23 12 63 46
xavier.cayon@ekno.fr
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[1] http://www.entreprises.gouv.fr/innovation-2030/home-innovation-2030?language=en-gb
[2] www.bigbooster.org
