Lausanne, Switzerland – 21 August 2024 – Vandria SA, a company at the vanguard of mitochondrial therapeutics developing first-in-class small molecule mitophagy inducers, today announced the second closing of its Series A financing bringing the final amount raised to date to $30.7M (CHF28.3M). Hevolution Foundation and Dolby Family Ventures joined the lead founding venture investor ND Capital.

Vandria is developing first-in-class small molecule mitophagy inducers against a novel target to rejuvenate cells and treat age-related and chronic diseases.

Hevolution Foundation is focused on investing in innovative science to support healthy aging. Dolby Family Ventures, in life sciences, invests in early-stage precision neuroscience and platform companies. In association with the financing, Jens Eckstein, Investment Partner at Hevolution Foundation, will join Vandria’s board of directors.

Jens Eckstein, Investment Partner Hevolution Foundation said, “We are excited by the potential of mitophagy as a new therapeutic approach with strong disease-modifying effects for an aging world population that faces cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Vandria’s pipeline offers even wider potential to address other age-related and chronic diseases of the muscle, lung and liver. This investment aligns with our mission to fund innovations that help catalyse the shift from lifespan to healthspan so that everyone can live healthier lives for longer.”

Sourav Kole, Managing Director, Dolby Family Ventures said, “Given the association of mitophagy to neurodegeneration and other disorders and Vandria’s robust preclinical dataset in showing neuroprotective effects and the potential to improve cognition, we are delighted to invest in the company to demonstrate this potential via clinical studies.”

Since the first Series A close in December at $20.6M (CHF 18M), backed by ND Capital and a small syndicate of private investors, Vandria has made rapid progress. It has further developed its platform and portfolio, and advanced its lead program, VNA-318, a patent-protected, brain-penetrant, first-in-class mitophagy inducer. VNA-318 is on track to enter clinical trials in Europe in the coming weeks. The company has also expanded its team and moved to dedicated lab facilities at Superlab Suisse on the Biopôle Lausanne campus.

In addition to the equity financing, Vandria has secured CHF4.2M in prestigious non-dilutive funding: two Innosuisse grants to support VNA-318 and an Eurostars grant to support the generation of pre-clinical data for mitophagy drug candidates in Vandria’s muscle program.

Klaus Dugi, CEO of Vandria, said: “I am delighted to welcome Hevolution Foundation and Dolby Family Ventures, alongside ND Capital, to support our transformation into a clinical stage company. This Financing will enable us to progress further in clinical development with runway from the series A to complete the Single Ascending Dose (SAD) and Multiple Ascending Dose (MAD) first-in-man Phase 1 study of VNA-318 and to initiate three parallel Phase 1b / 2a efficacy studies in 2025, subject to positive progress in the Phase 1 and regulatory approvals.”

About mitophagy and VNA-318

Vandria discovers and develops inhibitors of a novel target that results in both the induction of mitophagy - the selective removal and replacement of damaged mitochondria - and anti-inflammatory effects. The target has strong genetic links to several human diseases.

In preclinical studies Vandria’s lead candidate, VNA-318, has been consistently shown to acutely improve memory and learning. Additionally, VNA-318 has strong disease-modifying effects in models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Toxicity studies have demonstrated VNA-318 has a wide safety window.

VNA-318 Is being developed for patients with early-stage CNS and neurodegenerative disorders and is intended to improve cognition and limit memory loss progression. The global market for Alzheimer’s disease alone is estimated at $7.6 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% to 2035, driven by an aging population, improved diagnosis, and a growing awareness and understanding of the condition and its implications. 

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.

A composition of matter patent covering VNA-318 and other compounds has been issued by the US Patent Office. 

                                                                - End-