Swiss Noema Pharma raises CHF54m in Series A financing

It is one of the largest Series A rounds in Europe: Led by Sofinnova Partners and Polaris Partners, rare neurological diseases start-up Noema Pharma baged CHF54m in a Series A financing that was supported by Gilde Healthcare, Invus and BioMed Partners.

The company said it will use the assets from the oversubscribed funding to advance its pipeline. Roche received a shareholding in Noema in exchange for rights to four clinical-stage product-candidates.

From the outset, Noema has been leveraging the latest scientific discoveries in neuroscience to identify and pursue promising new indications, and to elaborate a strategy around the four product candidates it licensed from Roche. The product candidates will be developed in neurological indications with severe unmet need, such as seizures in tuberculosis sclerosis complex (TSC), trigeminal neuralgia, Tourette syndrome and other rare neurological disorders.

Noema Pharma’s lead product NOE-101 is an mGluR5 inhibitor in Phase IIb testing that is designed for two indications: persistent seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and severe pain in Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). NOE-105, a PDE10A inhibitor, is in preparation for Phase IIb testing to treat Tourette Syndrome. The company is undertaking validation studies in undisclosed indications for two additional clinical-stage assets, NOE-109, an mGluR2/3 inhibitor, and NOE-115, a triple re-uptake inhibitor. Noema Pharma was founded in 2019 with seed money from Sofinnova Partners.