Swiss Startup Hits the Ground Running for Rare Neurological Diseases

Switzerland-based Noema Pharma raised $59 million in a Series A financing round that will support the development of four clinical-stage assets the company licensed from Roche for the treatment of orphan neurological diseases with severe unmet needs.

Noema Pharma was co-founded in 2019 by George Garibaldi, a former vice president of neuroscience development at Roche. The company intends to develop treatments for rare diseases where existing therapies have not shown much success in treating a large percentage of patients. The assets licensed from Roche are expected to be aimed at seizures in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), trigeminal neuralgia, Tourette syndrome and other rare neurological disorders.

Garibaldi, who serves as the company’s chief medical officer, said the assets licensed from his former employer have strong clinical and preclinical safety packages. That data will allow Noema to quickly pursue a series of clinical programs in orphan central nervous system (CNS) indications.

The four assets were in clinical studies at Roche. NOE-101, a negative modulator of mGluR5, is being assessed for seizures in tuberous sclerosis complex and trigeminal neuralgia. A second asset, NOE-105, inhibits PDE10A and will be aimed at Tourette. Both of these assets are Phase II ready. The other assets, NOE-109, a negative modulator of mGluR2/3 NAM and NOE-115, are in line to begin research as well.

“Our analyses, based on new scientific evidence, have led us to indications upon which we have been building new intellectual property and efficient development and regulatory strategies. Across all our clinical initiatives, we focus on partnering with patients and patient associations to gather their input on what matters to them,” Garibaldi said in a statement.

Noema Chief Executive Officer Luigi Costa said the licensing deal and the $59 million (54 million Swiss Franc) financing will enable the startup to “reach value-creating development milestones with all four products.” With the financing in hand, Costa said Noema is in a solid position to advance the four therapeutics it licensed from Roche.

The Series A financing round was co-led by European investment firm Sofinnova Partners, which provided seed money to Noema last year, as well as Polaris Partners, a U.S.-based venture capital firm. New investors into Noema include Gilde Healthcare, Invus and BioMed Partners. Roche, which licensed the four assets to the company, received an undisclosed stake in the company in exchange for the rights to the clinical-stage assets. As part of the terms of the financing round, Darren Carroll of Polaris Partners and Arthur Franken of Gilde Healthcare joined Antoine Papiernik of Sofinnova Partners on the company’s board of directors.