Ethris has signed a €30 million financing agreement with the European Investment Bank to fund further clinical development of the company’s respiratory mRNA products, backed by the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA).
The Munich-based clinical-stage biotechnology company is developing mRNA-based products for respiratory diseases and pandemic preparedness, including its lead antiviral candidate ETH47 and additional programmes ETH52 and ETH53, the EIB reported on Friday.
ETH47 is being evaluated in a Phase 2a trial for antiviral activity in patients with asthma and is planned to be evaluated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
COPD is a long-term lung condition that makes breathing difficult.
Viral infections are major triggers of asthma and COPD exacerbations and are not addressed by current treatments.
The financing will support moving ETH47 into Phase 2b trials in patients with asthma and COPD.
Backed through HERA Invest
The EIB financing is being provided under HERA Invest, with support from DG HERA as part of the European Commission’s work on health emergency preparedness and response, the bank said.
Ethris chief executive and co-founder Carsten Rudolph said the funding would support further clinical proof of concept for its approach to targeting viral threats “at the point of entry.”
EIB vice-president Nicola Beer said ETH47 was being developed as a locally administered treatment and noted its nasal-spray development, “subject to clinical and regulatory success.”
DG HERA deputy head Laurent Muschel stated that the agreement would support development of intranasal products designed to generate a local response at the pathogen entry site.
