– FRANCE, Nouzilly – Igyxos, a biotechnology company specializing in the development of a new treatment for female and male infertility, today announced the success of its € 7.5 million fundraising in the part of a Series A conducted by Bpifrance, via the Accelerate Biotechnologies Santé Fund managed by Bpifrance in the framework of the Investments for the Future Program, alongside the Go Capital Amorçage II and Loire Valley Invest Funds managed by Go Capital and the Fonds Emergence Innovation II managed by Sofimac Innovation. This fundraising will allow Igyxos to finance the development of its drug candidate until proof of concept in human clinic.
Igyxos is developing a “First-In-Class” treatment, based on the use of monoclonal antibodies, to fight against female and male infertility.
Infertility affects about 70 million women and 30 million men worldwide and is, in many cases, linked to hormonal imbalance. These hormones in charge of the regulation of the reproductive cycle are called gonadotropins. They are produced naturally by the pituitary gland (we speak of endogenous gonadotropins), both in women, where they control the maturation of ovocytes and the onset of ovulation, and in humans, where they regulate spermatogenesis.
In case of dysfunction of the natural reproductive cycle, these gonadotropins can then be administered exogenously as a drug to treat infertility. They constitute the reference treatment since the 1960s marking the beginning of PMA (stimulation of ovulation with or without insemination).
The current management of infertility remains unsatisfactory with success rates still low (only 50% of couples treated have a child after 4 cycles of hormonal treatments on average), protocols of medical treatment with gonadotropins considered as heavy and expensive (several injections per week for up to 2 years in men) and finally low compliance (30% of patients stop during treatment).
By developing a monoclonal antibody capable of potentiating the bioactivity of endogenous and exogenous gonadotropins, Igyxos aims to significantly improve the therapeutic management of men and women suffering from infertility.
Pierre-Henry Longeray, who joins the Company as CEO , after being Chief Executive Officer of Merck Biopharma France, says: “I am happy to join the Igyxos project and to be able to support its development in a market that I know well, esteemed to more than 4 billion euros. It is a dynamic market, in particular with the acceleration of the development of certain countries like China, the development of specialized clinics but also the increase in the average age of procreation. “
Marie-Christine Maurel, founder and CSO of Igyxos indicates : “This fundraising of € 7.5m associated with the arrival of Pierre-Henry Longeray, and the support and expertise of Professor René Frydman who has been with us since the beginning, is a real hope to see the treatment developed by Igyxos successfully arrive on the market. We would also like to thank our historical investors Center Capital Développement, Sofimac Régions and APICAP, as well as BPI Région Center and the Region Center Val de Loire, who have accompanied and financially supported our project since its creation. “
“We are very excited to support the Igyxos team in the development of its innovative drug in the field of infertility. In fact, apart from the arrival of recombinant forms , hormone replacement therapy has seen very little innovation since the 1960s and has shown its limits in a significant number of patients “, say Benoit Barteau of Bpifrance, Hervé Bachelot Lallier of Go Capital and Jean-Briac Lesné of Sofimac Innovation , before adding “The drug candidate developed by Igyxos has the potential to drastically increase the birth rate among couples treated against infertility .”
About Igyxos
Igyxos’ mission is to develop new innovative medical and pharmaceutical technologies in the field of human fertility.
Igyxos is involved in all phases of development, from the discovery of promising targets to the identification of potential active compounds such as small molecules and antibodies.
For more information : http://www.igyxos.com
About the Future Investments Program
With € 57 billion, the Future Investments Program (PIA), led by the General Secretariat for Investment, was set up by the State to finance innovative and promising investments in the territory. Six national priorities have thus been identified to enable France to increase its growth and employment potential:
higher education, research and training,
valorization of research and transfer to the economic world,
Sustainable development,
industry and SMEs,
the digital economy,
health and biotechnology.
The third component of the PIA, the PIA3, is part of the Grand Investment Plan (GPI) presented by the Prime Minister on September 25, 2017.
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