LNC Therapeutics raises €6.2 million for the clinical development of new generation gut microbiome based drugs

• Capital increase supported by the Company’s historic shareholders, including Seventure Partners and a new family office
• Funding from BpiFrance, as part of the Deeptech program, and from the NouvelleAquitaine region
• A total raised of €6.2 million for the clinical development of LNC Therapeutics’ Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) and to study christensenella bacteria

Bordeaux, France, September 05th 2019 – LNC Therapeutics, a French biotech company specializing in gut microbiome-based drug discovery, announced today that it has raised €6.2 million via a capital increase and non-dilutive funding.

This new capital increase of €4.9 million involved the Company’s historic shareholders, including Seventure Partners and a new family office.

LNC Therapeutics has also obtained €0.5 million in funding through a grant from the NouvelleAquitaine region, as part of its regional innovation grant policy, as well as €0.8 million from BpiFrance as part of its Deeptech programme. Deeptech was introduced by BpiFrance in January 2019, and aims to support French start-ups developing breakthrough technological innovations capable of meeting actual major challenges. The programme is intended to make France more competitive in all sectors, particularly science-related ones.

“We are delighted to have secured this funding, which shows the confidence that investors have in our unique technology and expertise. We are particularly proud to have been selected by BpiFrance to take part in its Deeptech programme, which acknowledges the technological innovation developed by French companies, such as LNC Therapeutics. We’re also grateful to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region for its support.” said Georges Rawadi, Chief Executive Officer of LNC Therapeutics.

Developing a new generation of drugs based on essential bacteria in the gut microbiota

Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) are a new class of drugs that contain living organisms such as bacteria, and that are being used by LNC Therapeutics to treat diseases with major unmet medical needs. LNC Therapeutics is currently focusing its R&D efforts on the bacteria family Christensenellaceae.

Christensenella is a genus of bacteria that was described for the first time in 2012. It has been the subject of many academic studies that have revealed its benefits for human health, particularly in the treatment of metabolic diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases.

LNC Therapeutics currently has two programmes dedicated to Christensenella and its human health applications, for which the Company obtained an exclusive license agreement from Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, United States). • The LNC01 programme aims to develop LBPs based on a unique christensenella strain to treat obesity and metabolic diseases. • The LNC02 programme is focused on studying christensenella and identifying new therapeutic applications via LNC Therapeutics’ exclusive research platform.

With these newly raised funds, LNC Therapeutics intends to ramp up the LNC01 programme in order to file an IND1 (Investigational New Drug) application and begin first-in-man clinical trials in 2020.

The Company also intends to continue using its research platform to understand Christensenella’s mechanisms of action and the ways in which it interacts with its host, and eventually identify new indications.

“We are more confident than ever that the gut microbiome can play a strong therapeutic role in human health. This is a quickly growing sector in which the research is progressing every day,” concluded Georges Rawadi. “With the introduction of our new R&D platform in early June and the licensing of patents relating to Christensenella’s therapeutic applications, LNC Therapeutics will actively pursue its strategy of developing the first Live Biotherapeutic Product based on the gut microbiome.”