EntoMed raises Euro 20 million

Focus on insect biology platforms for drug discovery

EntoMed SA (Strasbourg, France), which applies insect immune responses to drug discovery, has raised Euro 20 million funding. For the most part insect systems represent a vast, uncharted terrain for drug discovery.

Lead investor is Apax Partners (Europe, North America, Israel, and Japan). Other new investors in this round are Sofinov (Montreal) and Auriga Ventures (Paris). Current investors CDC Innovation (Paris), Oxford BioScience Partners (Costa Mesa, CA), and Atlas Venture (London and Boston) also participated in the fund raising.

EntoMed will use the funds to develop and market its technology in three areas:

• EntoMed's first drug candidate, an antifungal for life-threatening hospital-acquired infections
  
• Optimization of its lead molecules against resistant bacteria
  
• Further development of EntoMed's drug discovery platforms based on the understanding and knowledge of insect biology

Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Drug Discovery Online and Pharmaceutical Online
adepalma@vertical.net