Germany’s Omeicos Therapeutics was awarded an €1.7 million research grant (approximately $1.9 million) by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to support the development of its epoxyeicosanoid platform for treating cardiovascular diseases and potentially additional therapeutic areas of high unmet medical need. The firm says the grant will cover half the funds needed to support the progression of a research project. The other half of the investment will come from funds raised in Omeicos’ recent €8.3 million (approximately $9.3 million) Series B round of financing.
“With the Series B closed earlier this year and continued support by the BMBF, Omeicos is well positioned to enter the next stage of its corporate development,” commented Robert Fischer, M.D., CSO and co-founder of Omeicos. “While clinical development of our lead development candidate OMT-28 advances through the clinic in atrial fibrillation, we will continue exploring other potential applications of the unique mode of action in other areas within the cardiovascular space and beyond.”
Omeicos is developing a platform of orally available, small-molecule analogs of omega-3 fatty acid-derived epoxyeicosanoids. The firm claims the molecules represent a new class of bioactive mediators that promote organ and tissue protection. Lead candidate OMT-28 is a synthetic small-molecule analog of the omega-3 fatty acid metabolite 17,18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (17,18-EEQ), which is being evaluated in a placebo-controlled Phase I study, started earlier this year, as a potential treatment for patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation.
Omeicos was awarded an initial €1.7 million grant from the BMBF in 2015, and in the same year raised €6.2 million (approximately $7 million) in its Series A round of financing.
