Connecta Therapeutics has closed a €1,7 million round led by Inveready. This capital increase will allow the company to take its first drug through to phase IIa clinical trials in patients who have fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common type of inherited intellectual disability. The biotechnology company was founded in the Barcelona Science Park in 2019 as a spin-off of the Prous Institute for Biomedical Research to develop new therapies for unmet medical needs involving the central nervous system, and currently remains linked to the park as an associated entity.

Inveready has led a round of investment of Connecta Therapeutics that will allow the company to take its first drug throug to phase IIa clinical trials in patients who have fragile X syndrome (FXS). Other participants in Connecta’s capital increase included CDTI, through the Innvierte program for innovative Spanish technology companies; the founders of Prous Institute for Biomedical Research, Josep Prous and David Prous; and Jordi Fàbrega, former Director of Business Development at Biocat.

FXS is the most common type of inherited intellectual disability. It is currently diagnosed using DNA blood tests, but there is no specific treatment for the cause of the condition, only treatments to help alleviate its symptoms. FXS affects patients’ neuroplasticity, meaning their brain’s ability to recover and restructure on a molecular and cellular level. Neuroplasticity is key to development and learning, affects on neuroplasticity can lead to a decrease in intellectual capacity (mild to severe mental retardation) and social and behavioral problems (attention defect, hyperactivity, autism, etc.).

Preclinical studies have shown Connecta Therapeutics’ drug to be a good modulator of neuroplasticity, to improve cognitive abilities and reverse autism traits, such as issues with social interaction.

“We’re very happy that Inveready and CDTI have joined the company, not only as strategic partners and investors, but also bringing their experience in advancing projects with a huge impact on R&D. We would like to start clinical trials on this first-in-class drug as soon as possible to prove the efficacy of this therapeutic strategy for FXS”, explained Jordi Fàbrega, CEO of Connecta Therapeutics. The company expects to begin phase I trials in late 2021 and phase IIa in 2023.

“What sets this drug apart is thatit modulates various proteins involved in the anomalies in the dendritic spines of cortical neurons in FXS,” explains Dr Mara Dierssen, Research Advisor to Connecta Therapeutics. This way, the drug can tackle problems that often limit the clinical utility of many pharmacological treatments, especially involving the central nervous system. Dr Dierssen leads the Cellular and Systems Neurobiology Group at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), world-renowned for its ground-breaking discoveries in intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome, and has participated actively in the preclinical development of Connecta’s drug.

This is Inveready’s eighth investment through the Biotech III fund. Sara Secall, Director of Inveready’s Operating Partner & Life Sciences Investment, notes that “in Connecta, we liked the solvency and daring of the entrepreneurial team, as well as the preclinical results. The drug targets a clear market need and has a profile that could be expanded to other neurodevelopmental disorders.”

Modulating neuroplasticity could be an effective strategy for other disorders of the central nervous system, as it has been seen to be affected in patients with decreased intellectual capacity and behavioral problems. In this regard, Connecta Therapeutics’ drug could be effective in patients with Rett syndrome, Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorders.