PharmaBiome AG, a pioneer in next-generation microbiome therapies, has obtained CHF 1.75 million as part of a bridge funding round to advance preclinical lead product PB002. Current shareholders and new investors, including the newly elected members of the board, contributed to the round. Thomas Meier and Patrik Forrer are the new board members.
Using its unique and proprietary technology platform, PharmaBiome develops therapeutics consisting of defined, pharma-grade, bacterial consortia for the treatment of microbiome-related diseases. PharmaBiome’s microbiome-based products can be applied orally. Consortia – defined mixes of co-cultured and mutually interacting bacteria – allow for the first time a targeted modification of the bacterial ecosystem in the gut, thereby addressing chronic diseases caused by imbalances of the microbiome. PharmaBiome’s lead product (PB002), a co-cultured consortium of nine bacterial strains, is in preclinical development and designed to treat ulcerative colitis (UC).
The ETH Zurich spinoff has today announced that it secured CHF 1.75 million in bridge financing from current shareholders and new investors including newly elected members of the board. The new funds will allow the company to advance the preclinical development of its most advanced product PB002 and to strengthen its production and lead identification platforms. To initiate the first pilot clinical trial with PB002 in UC, PharmaBiome has the ambition to emerge as a leading European company in the microbiome field. PharmaBiome also plans to raise a Series A financing to support its product pipeline and platform technology further.
Industry veterans join PharmaBiome’s board
Thomas Meier and Patrik Forrer are the newly elected members to PharmaBiome’s Board of Directors (BOD). Thomas Meier, who is actively engaged in multiple startup-BODs assumes the role of chairman of the Board at PharmaBiome. He has a strong track record in the pharmaceutical industry as a founder, chief scientific officer and senior manager. In his last position, he served as CEO of Santhera Pharmaceuticals AG which he successfully advanced from early stages to a fully integrated commercial company. Last week it was announced that he has also joined the board of Novaremed.
Forrer was elected a board member of PharmaBiome. He was an instrumental driving force behind the development of designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) as a novel therapeutic modality. Based on this technology, Forrer co-founded Molecular Partners AG in 2004 and served the company in various functions, including as its first chairman. In 2019 he co-founded his second venture Athebio AG.
(Press release/RAN)
Photo L-R: Thomas Meier and Patrik Forrer
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