SeaBeLife Biotech raises € 1.5 million to develop drugs targeting regulated cell death.
Roscoff, June 15, 2020. SeaBeLife, a pharmaceutical company focused on identifying a new class of drug candidates able to deprogram necrotic cell death, announces its first seed money fundraising with several Business Angels. This capital-raising is supplemented by additional funding from the BPI, the upcoming entry into the capital of SATT Ouest Valorisation, and a contribution from the Brittany region (AAP technology transfer) for a total amount of € 1.5 million.
The company’s disruptive technology is based on inhibiting simultaneously two kinds of necrotic cell death. It has major therapeutic potential because simultaneous activation has been recently been implicated in acute pathologies that have limited therapeutic options and are notoriously hard to treat. In particular SeaBeLife has gotten promising in vivo preliminary results for two indications: acute renal failure induced by the classical cancer drug cisplatin, and liver failure from paracetamol poisoning. Beyond acute pathologies, SeaBeLife will also be looking into chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or AMD (retinal degeneration).
Morgane Rousselot, CEO of SeaBeLife, said: “We are fortunate to have a particularly innovative technology that can be validated on acute diseases in relatively short periods of time, while presenting a potential for widening to major pathologies afterwards. Our investors have understood this . With this funding, we are targeting preclinical stage for a first indication in 2021. ”
Capital funds were brought in by Business Angels networks from Brittany (Breizh Angels: Finistère Angels, Armor Angels, BSA, BA35), and Angels Santé, the leading European network of business Angels in this area for a total amount of € 635k.
About SeaBeLife
The Company was founded in March 2019 in Roscoff (France) by Morgane Rousselot (CEO, PhD in Biochemistry in UPMC-CNRS-Station Biologique de Roscoff), an entrepreneur who has already participated in the founding of several start-ups.
The scientific board includes key scientists who contributed to the technology set-up, in particular Stéphane Bach (CNRS), Arnaud Comte (CNRS), Marie-Thérèse Dimanche Boitrel (INSERM), and Peter Goekjian (Université Lyon 1), as well as Claire Delehouzé who joined SeaBeLife as technical director.
SeaBeLife has built a portfolio of over 35 relevant biologically active molecules. The first molecule has demonstrated activity in in vivo “proof-of-concept” models targeting 4 different indications, out of which 2 indications are already in preclinical development.
The company is based in Roscoff (Brittany, France), operating inside the premises of the Biological Station. In vitro and in vivo developments will be carried out locally and by various partners in Brittany and France.
The company has received support from Technopôle Brest Iroise and SATT Ouest Valorisation.