Second investment for AurorA Science, which participates in the round of InteRNA Technologies

InteRNA Technologies bv, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, has secured a $22.4 million (€18.5 million) round, in which Aurora Science, the biotech investment company formed from the partnership of AurorA-TT, Rottapharm Biotech (the group’s historical research core, owned by the Rovati family) and Italfarmaco, a pharmaceutical company headed by the De Santis family, also participated. Existing investors Waterman Ventures and Aglaia Oncology Funds also participated.

InteRNA Technologies specializes in the development of a new generation of miRNA-based products targeting key processes in the initiation and progression of human diseases, with a focus on cancer. The round will allow the company to clinically test INT-1B3 in the treatment of solid tumors, with a focus on Triple-Negative Breast cancer, with first results expected to be available in late 2021.

“This successful extension of the Series B funding round validates the unique potential that microRNAs offer as a therapeutic modality for hard-to-treat cancers,” said Roel Schaapveld, CEO of InteRNA Technologies. “We thank AurorA Science and our current group of investors for their support in bringing our microRNA technology into the clinic and look ahead to evaluate INT-1B3’s unique mode of action, targeting not only the cancer cells themselves but also the disease-promoting tumor microenvironment.”

Read more on the subject and find other important business news of the day with the Born2Invest mobile app.

AurorA Science had led its first investment last December 2020, participating in the $13.8 million (€11.4 million) round from Spanish biotech Peptomyc 

AurorA Science targets high-potential assets in Europe by bridging the gap between research and industry by entering the early stages of development with know-how from research to product launch. With an industrial approach, AurorA Science aims to accelerate the scaleup of portfolio companies to reach faster key milestones in the development of drug candidates, supporting critical aspects such as manufacturing, clinical design, regulatory and business development. The investment company was launched in February 2020. President of AurorA-TT is Guido Guidi (former Head Pharma Region Europe Novartis) while Edoardo Negroni (entrepreneur in the pharma sector) and Gabriele Campi (researcher, venture capitalist and cofounder of Altheia Science) are the two managing partners and Paolo Rizzardi (former General Manager MolMed) and Pierluigi Paracchi (co founder and CEOof Genenta Science) are the venture partners.

Paracchi’s presence in the team is certainly not by chance, given that Fidim, the holding company of the Rovati family, in September 2019 underwrote the last $16 million (€13.2 million) round of the Italian-American biotech Genenta Science together with the Chinese private equity Qianzhan Investment Management. 

In Paracchi’s track record there is also the exit from Eos (Ethical Oncology Science), another startup in the world of biotechnology, sold in November 2013 by the fund Principia I of Quantica sgr (which was then headed by Paracchi and his former partner Stefano Peroncini) to the U.S. group Clovis Oncology for $420 million, the best exit ever by an Italian venture capital fund. But Campi has also been dealing with Rovati for some time, as Altheia Science, a biotech startup that operates in the field of gene therapy research, had cashed in on an $11 million round in September 2018 that was also underwritten by Rovati’s Fidm-Rottapharm Biotech.

__

(Featured image by Pixabay via Pexels)

DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Born2Invest, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.

First published in Be Beez, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Born2Invest assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Born2Invest is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us.