Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Principia SGR, a venture capital group based in Milano, Italy, specialized in Healthcare and Medical Device, has invested €4 million euros in AnaBios Corporation, a San Diego-based biotechnology company advancing drug development through its proprietary Phase X technology. AnaBios is especially focused in therapeutic areas of major unmet medical need: pain, cardiac disease and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, AnaBios' technology has the potential to radically transform how drug safety is assessed at the preclinical stage, thereby reducing clinical stage failures.
Principia's investment is part of a Series B fundraise for a total of $10 million USD, aimed at expanding AnaBios' contract research capabilities and accelerating the development of the Company's own drug programs.
AnaBios' innovative technology enables the investigation of potential drug safety and efficacy on ethically procured human organs, tissues and cells in the laboratory. This ex-vivo approach is at the core of the Phase X technology ( "X" for "ex vivo") and allows for the generation of human relevant data at the preclinical stage. AnaBios currently offers drug discovery services to many of the major pharmaceutical companies in the USA, Europe, Japan and Korea, and also conducts its own drug discovery in pain and heart disease.
"We are extremely pleased to receive the support of a prestigious group such as Principia and are especially excited to have them joining our team in the effort to advance the growth of AnaBios. Principia adds a great deal of commercial and regulatory expertise to our team and will also help the growth of AnaBios outside of the USA," commented Andre Ghetti, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of AnaBios.
Paolo Siviero, Principia Healthcare Fund Manager, commented that: "Principia's objective is to help grow the value of AnaBios worldwide but with a special emphasis on Europe, where the adoption of the Phase X technology will greatly benefits pharmaceutical companies and, ultimately, patients."
With this investment, Principia has allocated € 47 million euros from its Principia Fund III, all for investments in the healthcare sector.
