The biotech Connecta Therapeutics has raised 3.3 million euros to develop its new drug, CTH120, for the treatment of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS): a rare hereditary genetic disorder, now without a cure, that causes mental disability and emotional and social problems, such as autism or hyperactivity.
The firm has closed a round of 200,000 euros, led by its current shareholders who head the Institute and the Prous family, its general director, Jordi Fàbrega, a fund from the Inveready manager and the CDTI Invest. The rest of the funds are competitive public aid, the most recent being a loan from Enisa (a company dependent on the Ministry of Economic Affairs) of 600,000 euros.
Jordi Fàbrega explains that Connecta is a spin-off from the Prous Institute for Biomedical Research, a company that uses artificial intelligence to identify molecules with therapeutic potential.
Connecta, founded in 2019 and headquartered in the Barcelona Science Park, has 4 employees. With the new funds, he plans to start the phase I clinical trial of his drug, which has just been classified as an orphan drug by the European Medicines Agency. "We plan to finish phase 1 in 2024 and carry out the proof of concept, although for phase 2 of the clinical trials we will need a new round," says Fábregas. In the best case, the drug could hit the market in 2028.
Connecta has created a public-private consortium with the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the IMIM (Hospital del Mar Institute for Medical Research) that has received 1.97 million euros from the State Innovation Agency to develop the drug. A team from IMIM, coordinated by doctors Rafael de la Torre and Ana Aldea, directs the clinical trial, in which 70 healthy adult patients will participate.
The scientific director, Josep Prous, explains that CTH120 recovers the neuroplasticity of the brain, a property of the cells that is lost in people who suffer from fragile X syndrome, in such a way that it improves cognitive ability and reverses manifestations of the disease, such as social interaction problems typical of autism. The loss of neuroplasticity can be caused by other pathologies, such as Down syndrome, Prous points out, so the drug could have other indications in the future. "We have started with this molecule, but we have others under study, so we have the opportunity to be a company with several assets," adds Prous.
