GENESIS Biomed and CREA Inversión will advise in the funding, which will allow the company to expand its activity in the discovery of new drugs.
Barcelona, 14 April 2020 – Chemotargets, a global leader in predictive analytics solutions for the pharma and biotech sector, begins a phase of transformation to become a biotechnology company that will develop new medicines in multiple therapeutic areas, with an initial focus on oncology. Founded in 2006 as a spin-off from Dr. Jordi Mestres’ Systems Pharmacology lab under the auspices of the IMIM Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, a leading academic centre of excellence based in Barcelona, Chemotargets is opening an investment round to undertake the transformation of its business model.
Genesis Biomed, a well-established consultancy firm in the health and biotech sectors, and CREA Inversión, an M&A boutique advisory firm specialised in corporate transactions and financing, will advise Chemotargets in this transformation.
“We are very motivated to begin a new stage of growth and to discover new bioactive molecules in collaboration with public research centres and pharmaceuticals companies. On this basis, we will consider the creation of new spin-off entities that will discover and develop new potential drugs,” says Chemotargets CEO Dr. Jordi Mestres. The company has developed the ProSurfScan technology, which allows the generation of bioactive molecules using state-of-the-art structure-based, artificial intelligence and data-mining methods for novel therapeutic targets and new interaction modalities (protein – protein, allosteric modulators, etc.).
In parallel, Chemotargets will continue to offer its services to pharmaceutical companies and research centres. Its main business is the provision of services to the life sciences sector based on CLARITYⓇ (European Commission’s Seal of Excellence), a technology that defines the efficacy and safety profiles of new drugs. CLARITYⓇ’s license has been acquired this year by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) among other international bodies and companies.
The combined use of CLARITY® and ProSurfScan, to simultaneously optimize the safety and efficacy of newly-discovered therapies, will position Chemotargets as a unique global player in the finding of more effective and safer drugs.
In the transition, a new leadership team will be formed to advance both the current business model of Software and Services and in addition, the rapid development of novel therapeutics in close collaboration with leading research centers and pharmaceutical industry.
A steadfast commitment in difficult times
The health and social crisis caused by SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has encouraged the company to pursue its principles: “We founded Chemotargets to resolve complex biomedical challenges and we have an obligation to join efforts to find solutions to this major challenge,” says Jordi Mestres.
GENESIS Biomed CEO Josep Lluís Falcó is “excited to start working with Chemotargets in collaboration with CREA Inversión. It is very positive that the sector does not stop despite this severe health crisis. We are extremely proud of undertaking such an ambitious project with CREA Inversión, being the first major collaboration as part of our strategic alliance.”
About Chemotargets
Chemotargets SL was founded in March 2006 as a spin-off from Dr. Mestres’ Systems Pharmacology lab under the auspices of the IMIM, a leading academic center of excellence based in Barcelona. Chemotargets offers validated and cutting-edge computational methodologies with top market predictive performance. The innovation strategy of the company is driven by new methods generated at Dr. Mestres’ lab. Since May 2017, Prous Institute for Biomedical Research has made a strategic investment in Chemotargets SL which has allowed CLARITYⓇ product development to be accelerated and new capabilities to be acquired in order to support the company’s vision and quickly address customers needs.
About GENESIS Biomed
Founded in 2017, GENESIS Biomed is a consulting firm that offers services to companies and organisations in the biotech and health sectors. With headquarters in Barcelona and Madrid and with a clear international vocation, it has a team of 10 experienced and highly qualified professionals. The company has raised over 45 million euros for its clients, closing successful investment rounds for Peptomyc, Anaconda Biomed, GlyCardial Diagnostics, AptaTargets and Leukos Biomed among others.
About CREA Inversión
CREA Inversión is an M&A boutique advisory firm specialised in corporate transactions and financing (equity, debt and alternative). Founded in 2011 by five partners with an extensive experience in financial management, it has offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona and San Sebastián. It has a team of over 30 professionals and has successfully closed over a 100 financial operations.
