Domain Therapeutics closes €2m funding round

Domain Therapeutics, a French biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and early development of new drug candidates targeting G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), has completed a €2m financing round.

Fifty per cent of the money has been provided by new investor, Seventure Partners, and the other 50% by Sodiv, another new investor, together with existing shareholders – AIRFI, IP Growth, Auriga and Sam Eletr, chairman of Domain’s board.

Domain is currently making the transition from contract research activities for the pharmaceutical industry to forming collaborations and strategic alliances with existing clients and new partners. The firm says the new financing will support this evolution.

The firm has been strengthening its DTect-All proprietary drug discovery platform with complementary technologies so that it can respond better to the needs of the GPCR market. In addition, around 30 high-throughput screening assays targeting high-potential GPCRs will soon be added to the company’s portfolio.

Domain is also moving forward with its internal research programmes focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and depression (mGluR2 NAM), Parkinson’s disease (mGluR3 PAM, supported by the Michael J Fox Foundation) and schizophrenia (undisclosed orphan GPCR – supported by a government grant).

The firm says the DTect-All platform makes it possible to work on the most difficult GPCRs. It also permits the selective discovery of allosteric modulators, which have greater therapeutic interest than conventional drugs but remain more difficult to identify using traditional screening methods.

Pascal Neuville, chief executive of Domain Therapeutics, said: ‘After breaking even financially two years ago, thanks to our contract research business, this injection of capital will be dedicated to accelerating the transition towards the next step of value creation and will enable the company to stay at the forefront of GPCR drug discovery.’