Exciva raises €9 million in Series A round led by Andera Partners
Heidelberg, Germany, October 26 – Exciva GmbH, a clinical biotech company developing a novel therapeutic compound for treating agitation/aggression in Alzheimer’s disease, today announces the closing of a Series A financing of €9 million ($10M) led by Andera Partners. LBBW Venture Capital and Cure8 also participated in the round.
This first funding will help Exciva GmbH develop the lead compound up to completion of Phase I. The product has the potential to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms in Alzheimer disease patients. This compound is the combination of two clinically validated products, which have demonstrated effectiveness in the CNS field.
“I am very happy that we were able to convey the relevance of our approach and I would like to thank the investors for their support,” said Francois Conquet, CEO of Exciva. “Our lead candidate (Deraphan®) combines two compounds which have separately demonstrated a safety profile as well as an efficient activity in patients living with behavioral conditions. With this investment, we can look forward to advancing this product, the combination of these two compounds, through to the start of Phase II.”
“Exciva GmbH is taking a uniquely promising approach to addressing symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease; a condition which still has huge unmet medical needs,” said Raphaël Wisniewski, partner at Andera Partners. “Andera has been supporting Exciva from its foundation and we are excited about the progress the program has made so far. These proceeds will be used to complete Phase I with the goal of starting Phase II in the next 18 months,” said Sofia Ioannidou, partner at Andera Partners.
The Exciva team combines the best research and development expertise in the CNS field. Each member has a successful background in the pharma industry. “The caliber of the team and its collective scientific and industry expertise will make a huge impact on developing commercial products in the field of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Stefanie Wojciech, investment manager at LBBW Venture Capital GmbH.
The board of directors is composed of: Raphaël Wisniewski (chairman) and Sofia Ioannidou, partners at Andera, Stefanie Wojciech, investment manager at LBBW Venture Capital GmbH, and Vikram Sudarsan, CEO of Engrail Therapeutics.
About psychological symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease
The behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are chronic. The progressive neurological disorders are characterized by a number of symptoms including agitation/aggression, sleep and eating disorders, irritability, depression, anxiety and hallucinations. These symptoms come with aging and appear in clusters. Prevalence of AD and hence behavioral and psychological symptoms are growing with aging societies. The global dementia population is projected to grow from ~50 million today to over 100 million by 2040; AD is by far the most frequent form (>60%). Prevalence of behavioral and psychological symptoms is up to 90% in severe AD patients and is present in >75% of patients living in nursing homes. As of today, no specific medication has been registered to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms.
About Andera Partners
Created in 2001, Andera Partners is a major player in private company investments in France and internationally. Its teams manage over €2.8 billion ($3.25bn) in investments in life sciences (Andera Life Sciences), growth and buyout capital (Andera MidCap, Andera Expansion and Andera Croissance), sponsorless transactions (Andera Acto) and ecological transition (Andera Infra). Based in Paris, with offices in Antwerp and Munich, Andera Partners is wholly owned by its teams, which comprise nearly 80 professionals, of which 52 are investment professionals. It is structured as a partnership and managed by a board of ten partners. Responsible and committed, the management company regularly forms partnerships with non-profit sector entities and takes concrete action in the fight against global warming. Andera Partners has been certified carbon neutral since 2018. Andera’s 15-person life sciences team brings together extensive experience in the life sciences industry, private equity and venture capital. Active since 2000, the team has raised over €1.1 billion ($1.3bn) through its BioDiscovery family of funds and is currently investing from its new BioDiscovery 6 fund. Since inception, the BioDiscovery funds have invested in more than 75 European and US biotech and medtech companies.
About LBBW Venture Capital GmbH
LBBW Venture Capital is the venture capital arm of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW).Since 1998, it has been offering venture capital financing for technology-oriented companies, mainly in the fields of industrial technologies, IT and life sciences. To date, more than 50 companies have been financed. LBBW VC invests up to €5M ($5.8M) in innovative fast-growing companies in the DACH region and considers itself as a sustainable VC partner and mediator between start-ups and established medium-sized businesses.
About Exciva GmbH
Founded in 2016, Exciva GmbH is a Germany-based biopharmaceutical company applying a new scientific approach that fully integrates molecular, behavioral and chemistry technologies to address behavioral and psychological symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Exciva GmbH uses its expertise in clinical research to implement the development of this novel treatment of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
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