Israeli microbiome co Biomica raises $20m

Israeli microbiome co Biomica raises $20m Globes correspondent

Israeli biopharmaceutical company Biomica today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for a $20 million financing round led by Shanghai Healthcare Capital (SHC). The financing is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance by Chinese regulatory authorities.

Rehovot-based Biomica is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative microbiome-based therapeutics and is a subsidiary of Israeli computational biology company Evogene Ltd. (Nasdaq: EVGN) (TASE: EVGN),

The new funds will allow Biomica to further develop its pipeline of microbiome-based therapeutics. Biomica plans to use the funding to complete its current BMC128 phase 1 immuno-oncology study and advance to phase II clinical trial; scale up and complete GMP production of BMC333 in preparation for a phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); as well as advance additional programs.

Biomica's drug candidates are based on a rationally designed consortia of microbes, selected through high-resolution functional microbiome analysis using PRISM, a computational platform powered by Evogene's 'MicroBoost AI' tech engine.

Biomica CEO Dr. Elran Haber said, "Biomica has made tremendous progress in the past year. This includes the initiation of the first in-human phase 1 immune-oncology clinical trial of BMC128 as well as advancing our infectious and gastrointestinal-related disease programs. We look forward to working closely with our shareholders, as we continue our advancements and meet our milestones in the coming years."

Evogene president and CEO and Biomica chairman Ofer Haviv added, "We are pleased to bring this new strategic partner, Shanghai Healthcare Capital, to join us. This external and independent endorsement validates our belief in the long-term potential of Biomica. It shows that all our hard work in building and investing in Biomica's development, whose underpinning technology leverages our AI tech engine, MicroBoost AI, is a successful strategy and continues to bear fruit."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 21, 2022.

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