Forendo Pharma raises additional funding to accelerate development of women’s health portfolio

Clinical stage drug development company, Forendo Pharma, has raised an additional €4 million of funding from Vesalius Biocapital III Partners, which will be used with other raised funds to accelerate the development of its women’s health portfolio.

“We are very pleased to welcome Vesalius III as a new shareholder and Stéphane to our Board of Directors,” stated Risto Lammintausta, CEO of Forendo Pharma. “The investment from Vesalius III, which has a successful track record in backing women’s health companies, is strong endorsement of our growing women’s health portfolio and the compelling clinical treatment and business opportunities Forendo Pharma has to offer.”

“Forendo Pharma is developing truly novel therapies that have the potential to transform the treatment of endometriosis, a disease that affects tens of millions of women across the globe,” added Stéphane Verdood, managing partner from Vesalius III. “We look forward to joining the experienced management team and investor syndicate to help Forendo Pharma accelerate development of its women’s health pipeline.”

This latest round of funding adds to the previous Series A financing (worth €12 million) and R&D loans (worth €5.7 million) the company has gained since 2014.

In addition, the company has announced that it has commenced a Phase Ia study to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of its lead programme FOR-6219 — a HSD17B1 inhibitor for the treatment of endometriosis.