SOM Biotech raises €7m to support development of repurposing drugs for CNS

Spanish pharma company SOM Biotech, which is engaged in repurposing drugs for orphan diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), has raised €7 million in a new financing round.

The funding round was led by an undisclosed holding company owned by a European family which has a history of investing in the pharma industry. Various existing partners also took part in the funding round, claimed the Spanish pharma company.

Dr. Raul Insa – SOM Biotech CEO said: “Since the creation of SOM Biotech, we have raised more than 12 million euros from private capital, subsidies and public loans. This effort is actually quite unconventional if we take into account that there is no Venture Capital in our shareholding, and that 59% of the shareholders are international, of which 26% are from outside Europe.

“At present, SOM Biotech has a theoretical company value exceeding 200 million euros guaranteed by independent experts and this fact has already allowed significant investment returns for the first shareholders.”

Dr. Raul Insa, SOM Biotech CEO. Photo courtesy of SOM Biotech.

The Spanish pharma company will use the new capital to wrap up an ongoing phase 2a proof-of-concept trial for its compound SOM3355 as a treatment for the chorea movements associated with Huntington’s disease.

SOM3355, which is the second product of SOM Biotech to enter into clinical stage development, is a repurposed drug marketed currently for arterial hypertension in Asian countries.

The Spanish pharma company said that it discovered the new drug activity using its artificial intelligence platform based on computational algorithms. SOM Biotech anticipates SOM3355 to be launched over a period of five years with projected annual sales of over €600 million.

The Spanish biopharma company will also use the new capital for expansion and strengthening of its licensing and co-development activities to grow a global footprint needed to become a leading company in the area of repurposing drugs for orphan diseases, particularly related to the CNS.

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