Caixa Capital Risc leads €3m Genmedica round

The investment will allow Genmedica to advance the clinical development of its compounds and complete its product range.

Other subscribers to the capital increase included BCN Emprèn, a venture capital company promoted by Barcelona City Council and the Catalan Finance Institute, which introduced Caixa Capital Risc to the company. VenturCap, several private investors and family offices, and Uninvest, the VC firm managed by the Universidad de Compostela, also contributed.

There are currently in excess of 200 million diabetics across the globe, with this number expected to increase to more than 400 million by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation. While most treatments help control blood sugar levels, helping to reduce the symptoms of hyperglycaemia, they are unable to prevent the disease from developing. The revenues generated by diabetes medication reached €20bn in 2009 and are predicted to rise to €30bn by 2016.

No cure currently exists for type 2 diabetes, but Genmedica aims to find one, which is precisely what attracted Caixa Capital Risc to this opportunity. The company's compounds are said to be complementary to the treatments already available in the market.

BCN Empren, Uninvest and another VC firm, Innova 31, previously injected €3.5m for a 58.23% stake in Genmedica in 2007. Founder Alec Mian, diabetes expert Antonio Zorzano and the management team held 14.38%. Among the business angels who retained the remaining share capital were Fernando Albericio, director of Barcelona's Science Park, and Xavier Testar, head of the research and innovation programme run by Barcelona City Council.

Caixa Capital Risc has recently invested in a number of biotech businesses, including Sabirmedical, Sagetis and Ingeniatrics. It channelled this latest funding via its €31m Pyme Innovación vehicle, while Uninvest used its I+D Unifondo, which was set up with an initial capital of around €12.5m in 2004.

Company
Based at the Barcelona Science Park, Genmedica Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to identify and develop therapies for type 2 diabetes sufferers by focusing on chronic inflammation and insulin resistance. It was founded in 2004 and employs four people.

People
Carlos Trenchs is the general manager of Caixa Capital Risc. Alec Mian is the founder and CEO of Genmedica.

Advisers
Equity – Fornesa Abogados (Legal).

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• Topics
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