Vandria SA bags CHF18m in Series A financing

agSwiss Vandria SA said it will use the proceeds from a CHF18m Series A financing led by ND Capital and a syndicate of HNW private investors to launch clinical trials with its lead compound VNA-318 by Q2/2024.

The company is a 2021 spin out of Ecublens-based Amazentis SA (now Timeline Inc.) that pioneered the development of  first-in-class small molecule mitophagy inducers such as urolithin A, a dietary supplement that helps rejuvenate cells and treat age-related and chronic diseases, but also PINK1-Parkin-independent mitophagy pathways activate other mitochondrial proteins, such as BNIP3, FUNDC1, and NIX, directly recruit LC3 to promote autophagosome formation and mitochondrial degradation.

Vandria SA’s lead compund VNA-318 is a mitophagy inducer that has demonstrated memory and learning improvement in preclinical models for CNS diseases such as cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It’s not public, if the compound also works through activators such as Amazentis’ microtubule-associated protein LC3, which triggers the degradation of defective mitochondria.

Capitalising on 15 years of discovery and clinical science, Vandria SA has rapidly developed its platform and a pipeline. According to Vandria, the company discovers and develops “inhibitors of a novel target”,  which results in the induction of mitophagy – the selective removal and replacement of damaged mitochondria – and anti-inflammatory effects. The target has strong genetic links to a range of human diseases.

In pre-clinical studies, Vandria’s lead candidate, VNA-318, has been demonstrated to acutely improve memory and learning, and to have strong disease-modifying effects in models of neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Toxicity studies have demonstrated VNA-318 to have a wide safety window.

VNA-318 targets patients with early-stage CNS and neurodegenerative disorders to treat cognitive impairment and limit memory loss progression, where the company sees economic potential: the global market for Alzheimer’s disease is estimated at US$7.6bn and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% to 2035, driven by an ageing population. In addition to VNA-318, Vandria has a pipeline of other mitophagy-inducing small molecules to address unmet medical need in muscle, lung, and liver diseases.

The company’s management team includes Klaus Dugi, MD as CEO, former R&D grup leader of Amazentis, Penelope Andreux, PhD as CSO, and life sciences entrepreneur Peter Harboe-Schmidt, MSc, MBA, as Head of BD & Finance.