Februar 2021 – Beiratsmitglied Dr. Cord Dohrmann wurde in den Wissenschaftsrat berufen
Februar 2021 – Beiratsmitglied Dr. Cord Dohrmann wurde für drei Jahre in den Wissenschaftsrat berufen.
Januar 2021 – Prof. Birkenfeld veröffentlicht neuen Artikel zur Rolle von mIndy/NaCT für den Blutdruck mit dem Titel „The longevity gene mIndy (I’m Not Dead, Yet) affects blood pressure through sympathoadrenal mechanisms.”
Eternygen GmbH Press release
Berlin, January 27, 2021
The longevity gene mINDY (I’m Not Dead, Yet) not only prevents metabolic disease, but also lowers arterial blood pressure and heart rate
Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2021 – Eternygen announces today the publication of Prof. Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, one of Eternygen’s scientific founders in Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) Insight. He presented data showing that the longevity gene mammalian Indy (mINDY) is involved in blood pressure regulation. Reduced expression of mINDY which is known to extend life span in lower organisms and to prevent from diet induced obesity, fatty liver and insulin resistance in mice, has now been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate in rodents. The authors provided mechanistic insights for the underlying physiological mechanism based on in vivo data in a genetic knock out model as well as microarray and in vitro studies. Furthermore, the hypothesis is supported by confirming critical effects in vitro using a small molecule inhibitor of mINDY. The authors conclude that deletion of mIndy recapitulates beneficial cardiovascular and metabolic responses to caloric restriction, making it an attractive therapeutic target.
Andreas Birkenfeld and colleagues provide a comprehensive study showing that mIndy deletion attenuates sympathoadrenal support of blood pressure and reduced arterial blood pressure and heart rate in a murine knockout model. Blood pressure was assessed invasively using intra-arterial pressure probes over several days. Urinary analysis for catecholamines and metanephrines as well as unbiased transcriptomic analysis of adrenal glands identified the affected biosynthetic pathways. Indeed, catecholamine biosynthesis was attenuated in mINDY-KO adrenals, whereas plasma steroids and steroid hormone synthesis were unaffected.
In vitro studies on an adrenal cell line supported this hypothesis. mIndy codes for a carboxylic acid transporter protein expressed in plasma membrane. Citrate, the main substrate of the mINDY transporter, increased catecholamine content, while pharmacological inhibition of mINDY by a small molecule inhibitor blunted the effect.
The study provided further insights into the physiological mechanisms of the beneficial effects of reducing mINDY activity which is known to protect from diet and aging induced metabolic diseases by mechanisms akin to caloric restriction. Therefore, the data showed a novel mechanism contributing to cardiometabolic cross talk and further supporting mINDY as a promising target for the whole spectrum of metabolic syndrome components, including increased blood pressure.
The study was published from the Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Disorders (IDM) of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University Tübingen and the Clinic of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nephrology of the University Hospital Tübingen.
Publication:
Willmes DM, Daniels MA, Kurzbach A, Lieske S, Bechmann N, Schumann T, Henke C, El-Agroudy N, Da Costa Goncalves AC, Peitzsch M, Hofmann A, Kanczkowski W, Kräker K, Müller DN, Morawietz H, Deussen A, Wagner M, El-Armouche A, Helfand SL, Bornstein SR, de Cabo R, Bernier M, Eisenhofer G, Tank J, Jordan J, Birkenfeld AL. The longevity gene mIndy (I’m Not Dead, Yet) affects blood pressure through sympathoadrenal mechanisms. JCI Insight. 2021, doi.org/ 10.1172/jci.insight.136083
ABOUT ETERNYGEN GMBH
Eternygen is a Berlin-based Biotech Company founded in June 2012 to focus on the research, development and marketing of NaCT inhibitors for the treatment of dietary-related metabolic diseases. The founding team consists of renowned scientists from leading German universities and academic institutes as well as serial entrepreneurs from the venture and industry community. Eternygen is a virtual company supported by a network of senior industry experts and contract research organizations. Eternygen shareholders include Epidarex Capital, Evotec SE, VC Fonds Technologie, Berlin, Germany managed by IBB Venture, and two renowned family offices. For additional information please go to www.eternygen.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
Eternygen:
Marco Janezic, CEO. Ph. +49 30 1207 6983 – 0; email: m.janezic@eternygen.com
Dr. Grit Zahn, Head of Research. Ph. +49 30 1207 6983 – 1; email: g.zahn@eternygen.com
October 2020 – Eternygen Announces the First Closing of its Series A2 Funding Round
Eternygen GmbH Press release
Berlin, October 26, 2020
Eternygen Announces the First Closing of its Series A2 Funding Round
Berlin, Germany, October 26, 2020 – Eternygen announces today the first closing of its Series A2 funding round led by new anchor investor Evotec SE and additional funding from venture capital firms Epidarex Capital, IBB Ventures and a number of family offices. The new investment amounting to €5M will be used to drive Eternygen’s development of novel treatments for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to the next milestone, i.e. the selection of a preclinical development candidate, the initiation of IND enabling studies as well as growing clinical capabilities within the team.
NASH is a life-threatening metabolic disease which urgently needs new effective treatment options and represents a large and rapidly growing market opportunity. Eternygen will use the proceeds of this financing to continue its preclinical program tackling NASH with a unique and previously unexplored mode of action by focusing on citrate metabolism, a key regulator for multiple processes driving NASH pathogenesis. Eternygen targets NaCT/SLC13A5 (also referred to as “INDY” or “I’m not dead yet) – a sodium coupled citrate transporter in the liver – which has a broad effect on NASH-relevant pathways like glucose metabolism, lipogenesis as well as inflammation, fibrosis and cardiovascular risk factors. The current funding round of about EUR 5m will remain open for additional investment to bring the program to clinical POC.
“NASH is expected to become one of the largest economic and public health burdens in developed countries over the next 10 years. Effective treatments are urgently needed to address this serious disease which can ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis,” Marco Janezic, Founder and CEO Eternygen, GmbH. “The ongoing support by our investors and the promising data generated to date give us great optimism to continue our work for patients and caregivers. In particular the commitment of Evotec as our main development partner, knowing the program in depth and now being the lead investor is a great validation of our recent work and gives us confidence for the next development stages of our unique approach,” he concluded.
“At Evotec we are committed to developing disease modifying treatments for metabolic diseases,” Dr. Cord Dohrmann, CSO Evotec said. “Eternygen’s approach to NASH fits very well as it is focused on the inhibition of INDY, a target with accumulating evidence that is plays an important metabolic role in the development of NASH and related metabolic disorders. Although INDY is not easily tractable via small molecules Eternygen has managed to identify a number of chemical leads which clearly have the potential to be turned into drugs. We are very much encouraged by Eternygen’s progress and believe that they will deliver sorely needed drugs to NASH patients who are lacking effective treatment options.”
ABOUT EPIDAREX CAPITAL
Epidarex Capital is a transatlantic venture capital firm with a track record of building exceptional life science companies in emerging hubs in the US and UK. Epidarex’s experienced team of early stage investors partner with entrepreneurs and leading research institutions to transform world-class science into highly innovative products addressing major unmet needs in the global healthcare market. For more information visit: https://epidarex.com
ABOUT EVOTEC SE
Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academics, patient advocacy groups and venture capitalists. We operate worldwide and our more than 3,400 employees provide the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery and development solutions. We cover all activities from target-to-clinic to meet the industry’s need for innovation and efficiency in drug discovery and development (EVT Execute). The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuronal diseases, diabetes and complications of diabetes, pain and inflammation, oncology, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, fibrosis, rare diseases and women’s health. On this basis, Evotec has built a broad and deep pipeline of approx. 100 co-owned product opportunities at clinical, pre-clinical and discovery stages (EVT Innovate). Evotec has established multiple long-term alliances with partners including Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, CHDI, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, UCB and others. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on Twitter @Evotec.
ABOUT IBB VENTURES
IBB Ventures (www.ibbventures.de) has been providing venture capital to innovative Berlin-based companies since 1997 and has established itself as the market leader in early stage financing. The funds are primarily used for development and market launch of innovative products or services as well as for business concepts from creative industries. Two funds with a total volume of EUR 100 million are currently in the investment phase. Both VC funds are financed by the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the State of Berlin. IBB Ventures has already invested in more than 210 creative and technology companies in Berlin; in syndicates with partners, the start-ups received approx. EUR 1.52 billion, of which IBB Ventures has invested EUR 217 million as lead, co-lead or co-investor.
ABOUT ETERNYGEN GMBH
Eternygen is a Berlin-based Biotech Company founded in June 2012 to focus on the research, development and marketing of NaCT inhibitors for the treatment of dietary-related metabolic diseases. The founding team consists of renowned scientists from leading German universities and academic institutes as well as serial entrepreneurs from the venture and industry community. Eternygen is a virtual company supported by a network of senior industry experts and contract research organizations. Eternygen shareholders include Epidarex Capital, Evotec SE, VC Fonds Technologie, Berlin, Germany managed by IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, and two renowned family offices. For additional information please go to www.eternygen.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
Eternygen:
Marco Janezic, CEO. Ph. +49 30 1207 6983 – 0; email: m.janezic@eternygen.com
Dr. Grit Zahn, Head of Research. Ph. +49 30 1207 6983 – 1; email: g.zahn@eternygen.com
MC Services:
Catherine Featherston/Raimund Gabriel; Ph.. +49 89 210 228 – 80; eternygen@mc-services.eu
April 2020 – Eternygen wurde ausgewählt für das „German Accelerator Life Sciences“ Programm
April 2020 – Eternygen wird für die Teilnahme am „German Accelerator Life Sciences“ Programm ausgewählt.
April 2020 – Eternygen präsentiert digital beim „BioLaunchPad, the company showcase platform of BioTrinity“ vom 28. April bis 1. Mai 2020
April 2020 – Eternygen präsentiert digital beim „BioLaunchPad, the company showcase platform of BioTrinity“ vom 28. April bis 1. Mai 2020.
März 2020 – Dr. Grit Zahn, Forschungsleiterin der Eternygen GmbH präsentiert auf dem Virtual Meeting des „4th International SLC13A5 Deficiency Research Roundtable“ am 23. März 2020 der Tess research foundation.
Dr. Grit Zahn, Forschungsleiterin der Eternygen GmbH präsentiert auf dem Virtual Meeting des „4th International SLC13A5 Deficiency Research Roundtable“ der Tess research foundation am 23. März 2020.
Februar 2020 – Eternygen präsentiert Daten, die eine INDY-Inhibition als neue therapeutische Option für NASH aufzeigen
Eternygen präsentiert Daten, die eine INDY-Inhibition als neue therapeutische Option für NASH aufzeigen
Januar 2020 – Treffen Sie Eternygen bei der Biotech Showcase Conference 2020
Treffen Sie Eternygen bei der Biotech Showcase Conference 2020
Eternygen wird an der Biotech Showcase conference von 13-15 Januar in San Francisco, USA teilnehmen…
Treffen Sie Eternygen auf der BioEurope vom 11-13. November 2019
Treffen Sie Eternygen auf der BioEurope vom 11-13. November
Eternygen wird an der BioEurope Konferenz in Hamburg vom 11-13. November teilnehmen.
Prof. Birkenfeld wird neuer Ärztlicher Direktor und Leiter der Klinik für Diabetologie, Endokrinologie und Nephrologie an der Universität Tübingen
Prof. Birkenfeld wird neuer Ärztlicher Direktor und Leiter der Klinik für Diabetologie, Endokrinologie und Nephrologie an der Universität Tübingen
Seit dem 1. Oktober 2019 ist Prof. Birkenfeld Ärztlicher Direktor und Leiter der Klinik für Diabetologie, Endokrinologie und Nephrologie an der Universität Tübingen und Direktor des Instituts für Diabetesforschung und Metabolische Erkrankungen des Helmholtz Zentrums an der Universität Tübingen (IDM)
Prof. Birkenfeld erhält den Abstract Award
Prof. Birkenfeld erhält den Abstract Award
Prof. Birkenfeld erhält den Abstract Award des American College of Cardiology (ACC)
Eternygen bei der BioFIT 2017
Eternygen bei der BioFIT 2017
Eternygen wurde eingeladen an der Panel Diskussion auf der BioFIT Konferenz 2017 teilzunehmen zum Thema “How are collaborations key to improve innovation in metabolic diseases?” in Strassburg (28 – 29 November 2017)
Prof. Birkenfeld wird Vorsitzender der Arbeitsgruppe Diabetes und Herz
Prof. Birkenfeld wird Vorsitzender der Arbeitsgruppe Diabetes und Herz
Eternygen GmbH ist Mitglied des Kooperationsnetzwerks “Network for Pharma Solutions (NetPhaSol, Germany)”
Eternygen GmbH ist Mitglied des Kooperationsnetzwerks “Network for Pharma Solutions (NetPhaSol, Germany)”
Eternygen GmbH schließt 8 Millionen Euro Serie-A-Finanzierungsrunde
Eternygen GmbH schließt 8 Millionen Euro Serie-A-Finanzierungsrunde
Eternygen GmbH schließt 8 Millionen Euro Serie-A-Finanzierungsrunde mit Lead Investor Epidarex Capital erfolgreich ab
Prof. Jens Jordan wird Direktor des Instituts für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin
Prof. Jens Jordan wird Direktor des Instituts für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin
„Prof. Jens Jordan wird ab dem 1. Dezember 2016 Direktor des Instituts für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin des Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Köln“
Fördergeld in Höhe von € 5 Millionen für den Transcampus der TU Dresden und des King’s College London
Fördergeld in Höhe von € 5 Millionen für den Transcampus der TU Dresden und des King’s College London
Eternygen bei der 7. Internationalen IQPC Konferenz
Eternygen bei der 7. Internationalen IQPC Konferenz
Eternygen GmbH gibt heute bekannt, dass im Rahmen der 7. Internationalen IQPC Konferenz die Forschungsleiterin Dr. Grit Zahn einen Vortrag am 22. Juni um 15:10 im Hotel Palace in Berlin halten wird.
Prof. Birkenfeld tritt am Zentrum für Klinische Studien Dresden die Nachfolge von Prof. Markolf Hanefeld an
Prof. Birkenfeld tritt am Zentrum für Klinische Studien Dresden die Nachfolge von Prof. Markolf Hanefeld an
Prof. Birkenfeld erhält renommierten Ferdinand Bertram Preis
BioEquity Europe Conference
BioEquity Europe Conference
Auf der diesjährigen BioEquity Europe Conference vom 19. – 20. Mai wird die Eternygen GmbH sich im Rahmen der „Next Wave Companies“ präsentieren. Tagungsort ist das InterContinental Hotel Wien, Österreich. Es spricht Frau Dr. Grit Zahn.
Gründung des Transcampus der TU Dresden und des King’s College London
Gründung des Transcampus der TU Dresden und des King’s College London
Vorstellung der Transcampus Initiative des King’s College London
Professor Birkenfeld wechselt an die TU Dresden
Kooperation von Evotec und Eternygen
Kooperation von Evotec und Eternygen
Evotec und Eternygen erforschen gemeinsam neue Wirkstoffe zur Behandlung metabolischer Erkrankungen.
Dr. Grit Zahn neue Forschungsleiterin
Dr. Grit Zahn neue Forschungsleiterin
Dr. Grit Zahn wird neue Forschungsleiterin bei Eternygen.
Eternygen GmbH erhält Startfinanzierung
Eternygen GmbH erhält Startfinanzierung
Eternygen GmbH erhält Startfinanzierung von der IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft.
Prof. Jordan erhält den angesehenen Peter Sleight Award
Prof. Jordan erhält den angesehenen Peter Sleight Award
Prof. Jordan erhält den angesehenen Peter Sleight Award der Europäischen Gesellschaft für Bluthochdruck (ESH)