Ona Therapeutics is working on treatments for metastatic cancer and has collected series A funding from investors including Bpifrance.
Ona Therapeutics, a Spain-based cancer therapy developer spun out of ICREA and IRB Barcelona, has gathered €30m ($33.9m) in series A funding from backers such as French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance.
Asabys Partners, Alta Life Sciences, Fund+ and Ysios Capital also contributed to the round.
Founded in 2019, Ona Therapeutics is working on therapeutics that block the pathways which enable fat metabolism, in turn inhibiting cancer cells from metastasising.
The approach has been proven in animal models and could be effective across a wide range of indications, including bladder, breast, gastric, ovarian and prostate cancers as well as melanoma. The treatments could potentially eliminate existing metastases in addition to preventing new ones.
Ona was co-founded by scientific adviser Salvador Aznar-Benitah, a group leader at IRB, together with chief executive Valerie Vanhooren, previously director of R&D at Princeton University’s protein engineering spinout ProteoDesign.
The company will…
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).
