Ghent, Belgium, 19 September 2024 – Tanai Therapeutics (“the Company” or “Tanai”), a VIB spin-off company developing a new therapeutic class of obesity treatments, today announces it has secured additional financing from Novo Nordisk A/S and BioGeneration Ventures (“BGV”) alongside existing investors V-Bio Ventures, Qbic and VIB, bringing the total seed round to date to over EUR 6 million. Tanai is developing an oral therapeutic targeting a novel, genetically validated pathway in obesity that plays a key role in energy expenditure.
In addition, Tanai Therapeutics also announces the appointment of leading experts Prof. Bill Haynes, Prof. Susanne la Fleur, Prof. Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Prof. Mads Tang-Christensen, Prof. Matthias Tschöp and scientific founder Prof. Savvas Savvides to its newly formed Scientific Advisory Board.
Tanai Therapeutics was founded in 2023 based on research at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research with initial seed financing from V-Bio Ventures as lead investor, Qbic and VIB. The additional financing secured from Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company with a strong heritage in metabolic diseases, and BGV, a prominent European early-stage venture capital firm with a proven track record in building next-generation biotech companies, will be pivotal in advancing Tanai’s innovative anti-obesity therapeutics towards in-vivo proof-of-concept.
“Through its unique mode of action, Tanai’s genetically validated drug target has the potential to selectively promote fat loss through increased energy expenditure while preserving muscle mass, offering a promising new approach to obesity treatment”, said Karin Conde-Knape, Senior Vice President, Global Drug Discovery at Novo Nordisk. “Tanai Therapeutics is the first equity investment through our Science2Medicine iNNvest programme, which aims to incentivise and support innovative biotechs within cardiometabolism, and we look forward to collaborating with all its stakeholders.”
“For BGV, we have actively monitored this novel therapeutic area, even prior to its high growth rate, and have reviewed multiple investment propositions. Tanai’s mechanism of action is highly differentiated and therefore holds a very strong potential in tackling obesity”, added Rianne Ellenbroek, Principal at BGV. “The formation of this distinguished Scientific Advisory Board underscores our confidence in Tanai’s innovative approach and its promise to revolutionize obesity therapy.”
Jérôme Van Biervliet, Managing Director at VIB, added: “Together with V-Bio Ventures and Qbic, we are pleased to welcome our new investors and scientific advisors. We are honoured to work closely with such prominent experts in the field, which is a strong validation of the potential of Tanai’s novel therapeutic approach. This collaboration and financing will enable Tanai Therapeutics to advance its obesity program towards key milestones, and we look forward to reporting on the company’s successes.”
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