28 January 2021 - - US-based biotechnology company Enthera Pharmaceuticals has closed its series A financing, with a total financing of EUR 35m, the company said.

The Roche Venture Fund joins a renowned international investment syndicate following the fundraising's first close of EUR 28m which was announced in July 2020, co-led by seed investor Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan, and incoming investor AbbVie Ventures.

Rounding out the syndicate was the JDRF T1D Fund (the venture philanthropy fund of the JDRF) and several Italian investors including a group coordinated by Banor SIM, a group coordinated by Banca Profilo through Arepo Fiduciaria and Indaco Venture Partners SGR.

The EU R35m raised is the largest VC-backed series A funding round for an Italian biotechnology company to date.

The series A marks both the Roche Venture Fund's and AbbVie's first venture investment into an Italian biotech company.

Enthera was also the first European investment of the JDRF T1D fund, which previously invested in the company during its EUR 4m seed extension funding round in 2018.

As part of the series A round, Carole Nuechterlein, Head Roche Venture Fund, joins the Enthera board of directors.

The proceeds from the series A financing will be used to obtain clinical proof-of-concept through a first-in-human study of Ent001, Enthera's lead candidate.

Ent001 is the only drug in development with the potential to restore the pancreatic beta cell compartment in type 1 diabetes as well as the original intestine structure in inflammatory bowel disease, in order to re-establish organ function.

The funds will also be used to further develop Enthera's pipeline.

Enthera was formed in 2016 on the basis of research by scientific founders Prof. Paolo Fiorina and Dr. Francesca D'Addio.

The company is the first spin-off of the Italian biotech accelerator BiovelocITA, founded by Sofinnova Partners, Silvano Spinelli and Gabriella Camboni, which provided the initial seed fund. A seed extension was financed in 2018 by Sofinnova Partners, JDRF T1D fund and the other existing investors.

Enthera Srl is a biotech company developing first-in-class biologics to transform the treatment paradigm of specific autoimmune conditions by re-establishing stem cell capabilities in a non-traditional way.

The company's primary target indications are type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.
Enthera's pioneering approach capitalizes on the key discovery of the IGFBP3/TMEM219 pathway, which is involved in beta cell and stem cell apoptosis in pancreas and gut, respectively.

The company is building a pipeline of inhibitory monoclonal antibodies and fusion proteins targeting the pathway via multiple angles.

Its lead program Ent001 is the only drug in development with the potential to restore the endogenous pancreatic stem cell compartment in T1D as well as the original intestine structure in IBD, in order to re-establish organ function.

Enthera is a private company headquartered in Milan, Italy and founded in 2016 by Prof Paolo Fiorina and Dr Francesca D'Addio at BiovelocITA, an Italian biotech accelerator.

The company is backed by Sofinnova Partners, AbbVie Ventures, Roche Venture Fund, and JDRF T1D fund. Enthera's discovery engine and assets are protected by a broad portfolio of patents.