Bioxodes raises €2.6m to develop antithrombotic peptide from tick’s saliva
The Belgian firm has full ownership of the patent following an agreement with the University of Brussels
Bioxodes, a Belgian company that develops biotech products derived from natural sources, has completed a €2.6m (US$3.5m) first seed funding round with a consortium of business angels and Belgian investment funds. It will be used to bring the company’s lead product, Ir-CPI, into pre-clinical development over the next 18 months.
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Walloon Region in Belgium has supplied €1.6m of the funding through the Retech programme for Research and Technology.
Bioxodes, led by its founding CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Edmond Godfroid, is exploiting the results of work conducted by his former team at the Ectoparasite Molecular Biology Unit at the University of Brussels (ULB), which focused on establishing the molecular basis of host-parasite relationships. Prior to the financing, Bioxodes had completed discussions with the ULB for the transfer of full ownership of patents relevant to Ir-CPI.
Ir-CPI is an antithrombotic derived from tick’s saliva. Thanks to a novel mechanism, Ir-CPI is potentially the world’s first injectable antithrombotic for use in all patient groups without causing high levels of bleeding. There is also potential to eliminate reversal or ‘washing out’ at the end of critical procedures.
Ir-CPI is an antithrombotic derived from tick’s saliva
The market for an injectable form of such a molecule for use in hospitals is estimated to exceed $1bn annually. According to market researcher Visiongain, the world antithrombotic drug market will bring in revenue of $24.3bn by 2015.
Ticks rank second only to mosquitoes as global vectors of disease. Research conducted in Godfroid’s laboratory has established the molecular basis of the parasitic relationship that a tick establishes with its vertebrate host. The particular tick studied is Ixodes ricinus, the carrier of Lyme disease. Following a bite the tick feeds on the blood of its host for a duration of up to two weeks. This long feeding involves no pain, blood clotting or inflammation. Scientists believe that such effects result from the presence of active principles in the saliva of the tick.
'I am delighted that our company has been able to secure the necessary finance to allow us to conduct a program of pre-clinical testing for this promising molecule,' said Godfroid. 'We are also very pleased to have secured full ownership of the Ir-CPI patent portfolio arising from the original work in my laboratory.'