12 February 2020 - - French biotechnology company Inotrem S.A. has closed a EUR 5m capital increase financed by Fountain Healthcare Partners, a leading Irish venture capital firm with offices in Dublin and New York, the company said.

This fundraising brings Inotrem's series B financing to a final closing amount of EUR 44m.

In addition, the company secured a EUR 13m credit line from Kreos Capital, Europe's largest provider of specialty finance to growth companies, and a EUR 1m loan from Bpifrance, France's public investment bank, bringing the fundraising to a total of EUR 58m of equity and debt.

The financing will support Inotrem's R and D effort, in particular of its lead drug candidate, nangibotide, which is currently undergoing a global multicentric Phase IIb trial in septic shock patients (ASTONISH trial) in five European countries and the United States, and of a companion diagnostic tool aimed at selecting those septic shock patients that are more likely to respond favorably to treatment. Financing will also allow the company to expand its TREM-1 franchise to address chronic inflammatory diseases.

Based on a novel approach of immunomodulation which targets the TREM-1 pathway, Inotrem has developed a proprietary technology platform and leverages its extensive knowledge of the TREM-1 pathway biology to develop programs in several indications with inflammatory syndromes for which there is a major and current unsatisfied therapeutic need.

Its lead compound, nangibotide, targets septic shock which is the ultimate complication of sepsis. The incidence of septic shock continuously raises and mortality remains elevated in developed countries. There is currently no specific mechanism-based therapy approved for this indication.

Inotrem's solution has the potential to become the first mechanism-based treatment for septic shock.

In conjunction with the financing, Ena Prosser of Fountain Healthcare Partners will become a member of Inotrem's board of directors, and Aris Contantinides of Kreos Capital will become an observer on Inotrem's board of directors.

Inotrem S.A. is a biotechnology company specialized in immunotherapy for acute and chronic inflammatory syndromes.

The company has developed a new concept of immunomodulation that targets the TREM-1 pathway to control unbalanced inflammatory responses.

Through its proprietary technology platform, Inotrem has developed the first-in-class TREM-1 inhibitor, LR12 (nangibotide), with potential applications in a number of therapeutic indications such as septic shock and myocardial infarction.

In parallel, Inotrem has also launched another program to develop a new therapeutic modality targeting chronic inflammatory diseases.

The company was founded in 2013 by Dr. Jean-Jacques Garaud, a former head of research and early development at the Roche Group, Prof. Sébastien Gibot and Dr. Marc Derive. Inotrem is supported by leading European and North American investors.

Inotrem is a French Tech 120 company: it was chosen to join the program launched by the French president of the Republic and the Prime Minister to support the development of fast growing startups.

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science venture capital fund with offices in Dublin, and New York. Founded in 2008, Fountain is Ireland's largest dedicated life science venture capital fund with more than EUR 294 m under management.

Fountain invests in entrepreneurs and companies with disruptive technologies or products that have a clear pharmacoeconomic benefit and a defined pathway to commercialisation, value enhancement and exit.

Fountain typically leads or co-leads its investments and has sourced private and public deals from start-ups, corporate spin-outs and turnaround situations. The Fountain Healthcare Partners team brings to investees over 70 years of collective experience in the pharmaceutical industry, corporate venture capital and VC across multiple investment and market cycles.

Kreos Capital is the provider of growth-debt financing to high-growth companies in Europe and Israel with revenues up to EUR 300m.

Since 1998, as the pioneer growth debt provider across Europe and Israel, Kreos has completed 540 transactions and committed more than EUR 2.3bn in 16 different countries.

Bpifrance is the French national investment bank: it finances businesses at every stage of their development through loans, guarantees, equity investments and export insurances.