Iproteos, based at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign of 250,000 Euros through the platform Capital Cell. The funds obtained will help to complete the safety phase, or preclinical regulatory phase, of their compound IPR19, one of the few drugs that are being developed around the world to stop and reverse the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. This is the second equity crowdfunding campaign led by Iproteos. The first round, launched in June 2014, was the first in the Spanish biotechnology sector.

IPR19, developed by Iproteos, is an innovative drug for the treatment of Cognitive Impairment Associated with Schizophrenia (CIAS). It is  capable of crossing the blood brain barrier, a protective brain wall that blocks the majority of drugs. The drug has already shown its effectiveness as a cognitive enhancer in in vivo trials and Iproteos is about to begin preclinical studies regulated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

With the aim of finalizing the regulatory preclinical phase and to initiate clinical trials during 2017, Iproteos has opened a capital increase funding round of € 1.3M (of which € 1M have already been committed by a life-sciences venture capital investment fund and the rest from other private investors). Equity crowdfunding campaign of € 250,000 through the platform Capital Cell will close up the financing round,  being the first co-investment of venture capital and equity crowdfunding in the Spanish health sector.
 

Over 45 million of affected people

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness whose development generally starts from 15 to 35 years. Cognitive symptoms associated with this disease (CIAS) primarily include problems in keeping attention, memory, verbal and visual learning, executive functions of reasoning and problem solving and social learning.

Teresa Tarragó, Iproteos Executive Director says: “It is estimated that there are 45 million people in the world suffering from schizophrenia, of whom between 75% and 80%  are affected by CIAS. Although it has been observed that these cognitive impairments are the core or base of the disease and imply  a risk factor for the disease progression, there is currently no drug that is specifically aimed against such impairment. Our goal is to advance the development of this drug so that it reaches all patients in need. We want to improve the quality of life of all people suffering from schizophrenia and we are determined to make this ambitious project possible”

IPR19 is the most advanced project of Iproteos, a biotech created as a spin-off of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute of Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona) by the hand of two of the leading Catalan scientists in the field of therapeutic peptides, Teresa Tarragó and Ernest Giralt, with the strategic participation of the Bosch i Gimpera (FBG). The company  business plan focuses on the discovery of third generation drugs for diseases with unmet needs, and has been supported by the Catalan Institute of Finances (ICF) by means of a co-founding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the JEREMIE program; the European Union 2020 Horizon; the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), ICEX Spain Export and Investments, through the  ICEX Next program and by  ACCIÓ -the agency for business competitiveness of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
 

The first Spanish biotech that launched a crowdfunding campaign

This is the second equity crowdfunding campaign led by Iproteos. The first round, launched in June 2014, was the first in the Spanish biotechnology sector. Iproteos raised 100,000 € thanks to 41 investors from diverse profiles (scientists, patients and investors), an amount that  allowed the completion of the non-regulatory preclinical stage of the IPR19 compound. The obtained funds enabled Iproteos to optimize the drug for oral administration, ascertain the minimum active dose of the compound and successfully complete its efficacy testing.

“Iproteos was one of the reasons why we created Capital Cell: we wanted to extend to everyone the opportunity to invest in a project that will improve the lives of millions of people. But not only because of that: the Biotech sector is the most profitable investment Spain, which was until now inaccessible  to small investors. Pioneering companies such as Iproteos are opening this possibility to everyone”, Daniel Oliver, director of Capital Cell, explains.

CapitalCell.net gives individuals the opportunity to invest in biotechnology-related projects that were until now reserved only to investment funds and professional investors. This type of investment is uncorrelated with other financial markets, such as the stock market, being an attractive option for investors who want to diversify their investment portfolios.

“The first round of Iproteos allowed many investors to participate in a project that is growing and working very well. Now we want to give this opportunity to many more people,” says Oliver.

• Further information about Iproteos equity crowdfunding can be found at Capital Cell webpage: http://www.capitalcell.net/investment/iproteos43/