Date: 2016-07-08
Type of information: Series A financing round
Company: Horama (France)
Investors: Bpifrance (France) and private investors (shareholders and Vendée entrepreneurs) Omnes Capital (France) Go Capital (France) Sham Innovation (France)
Amount: fundraising
Funding type: € 4 million
Planned used: The funds will be used to speed up developments of both gene therapy products HORA - PDE6B and HORA - RLPB1. HORA-RLBP1 is developed for the treatment of retinitis punctata albescens due to mutations in the RLBP1 gene. It provides the cell with a non-mutated copy of the human RLBP1 gene, that can express a functional CRALBP protein to halt or, at least, significantly slow the rate of retinal degeneration in RPA patients. HORA-PDE6B is developed for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) due to a defect in the PDE6B gene. The funds will also be used to strenghten Horama's team. Founded in early 2014, Horama aims at becoming a European leader in gene therapy for the treatment of rare genetic diseases in ophthalmology for which no treatment exists to date. The company has launched the development of a medicine intended to treat a form of retinitis pigmentosa. This is possible thanks to the confidence of private investors and of the Public Investment Bank (BPIfrance), which will ensure its operation until the end 2015. Horama brings together the skills of scientists, who are internationally recognized in the field of gene therapy in order to exploit their academic research within a private structure and treat orphan inherited retinal dystrophies. Dr. Philippe Moullier (Director of Research at INSERM [UMR 1089], and Director of the Atlantic Gene Therapies Institute), Dr. Fabienne Rolling (INSERM Research Director, and Director of the "Translational Gene Therapy of retinal diseases" team within UMR1089), Prof. M. Weber (Head of Department at the eye clinic of the Nantes University Hospital, and University Professor- Hospital Practitioner) and Dr. Guylène Le Meur (Hospital Practitioner at Nantes University Hospital specializing in paediatrics ophthalmology and genetic eye diseases, and
Horama is working on a portfolio of products including HORA-PDE6B which will enter in clinical phase in 2016. Horama’s gene therapy technique is to inject under the retina, a vector derived from a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) which carries the therapeutic gene of interest.
Lecturer at Nantes University); in Montpellier, Prof. Christian Hamel (formerly Research Director at Inserm, founding director of Montpellier Neurosciences Institute, and current head of the "Genetics and therapy of retinal blindness and optic nerve" team within the Institute [UMR 1051]) and finally, Dr. Vasiliki Kalatzis (Manager of Research at the Montpellier Neurosciences Institute, and Director of the "Gene therapy of retinal dystrophies" group) and Dominique Constantini, CEO of OsePharma are the members of Horama Strategic Committee.
Others: * On July 8, 2016, Horama announced that the company has raised €4 million in a Series A financing round with a syndicate of three investment funds : Omnes Capital, the Sham Health Innovation fund advised by Turenne Capital and GO Capital (through its GO Capital Fund Boot). * On March 3, 2015, Horama announced that the company has got € 450,000 from BPIfrance to fight against blindness. Founded in early 2014, Horama aims at becoming a European leader in gene therapy for the treatment of rare genetic diseases in ophthalmology for which no treatment exists to date. The company has launched the development of a medicine intended to treat a form of retinitis pigmentosa. This is possible thanks to the confidence of private investors and of the Public Investment Bank (BPIfrance), which will ensure its operation until the end 2015. Another 4 million euros fundraising is planned for late 2015, and is needed by Horama to carry on until 2018, with the first projected medicines.
Therapeutic area: Ophtalmological diseases
