Kutxa Fundazioa, the Basque Government and the Spanish Government are driving the transformation of Oncomatryx into a biopharmaceutical company

The Central Government is contributing €24.3 million through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, reinforcing its commitment to technological innovation in healthcare

Kutxa Fundazioa leads Basque investment with €15 million, alongside a contribution of €10.5 million from the Basque Government and Ekarpen and €2 million from BBK, bringing the total Basque institutional commitment to €27.5 million

The operation will bolster the development of new cancer therapies and advance the launch of a Fill & Finish manufacturing plant specialising in high-potency drugs

The Basque biotech company ONCOMATRYX BIOPHARMA, S.A. has successfully completed a capital increase of approximately €58 million with the ultimate aim of evolving from a biotech company into an integrated biopharmaceutical firm, strengthening both its clinical development and its industrial capabilities.

The operation is backed by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the public venture capital firm Innvierte, as well as Kutxa Fundazioa, the Basque Government, Ekarpen, BBK and other long-standing national and international private investors in the company.

Among the strategic initiatives envisaged is the development of a Fill & Finish manufacturing plant specialising in high-potency oncology drugs in Gipuzkoa, a facility that will help to bolster Europe’s industrial capacity for the manufacture of advanced biological medicines and strengthen the pharmaceutical sector’s technological autonomy.

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through INNVIERTE, the public venture capital company of the CDTI (the State Agency for Innovation), will contribute 24.3 million euros from its co-investment fund for strategic companies. This operation forms part of the Government’s commitment to specifically promote technological innovation in the health sector, the impact of which adds value and improves citizens’ quality of life.

For its part, Kutxa Fundazioa will allocate 15 million euros of the total 58 million euro funding round launched by Oncomatryx, significantly increasing its stake in the company from 1.7% to 7.4%. With this decision, the organisation reaffirms its strategic mission to contribute to social well-being by promoting business development and industrial impact in Gipuzkoa.

“This investment is fully in line with our objectives of fostering innovation and competitiveness, consolidating our commitment to transformative projects that generate a real impact on our ecosystem,” says Eluska Sukia, Director of Investments at Kutxa Fundazioa.

The Basque Government, in collaboration with Ekarpen, will contribute €10.4 million to this new round of funding, which, in the words of the Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, “will enable us to maintain our stake in the company at 17.96%.” “Through this operation, we are reinforcing our commitment to the development of a highly specialised biotechnology sector, considered strategic for the competitiveness and diversification of the Basque industrial fabric.”

Furthermore, he stated, “this investment helps to consolidate a hub of innovation in biosciences and advanced technologies in Gipuzkoa, boosting high value-added scientific and technological capabilities and promoting the new skilled jobs to which our children aspire”.

The Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, stated that “this transaction is an example of the public-private partnership model promoted by the Spanish Government to strengthen our science and innovation system. Investing in Oncomatryx means investing in more advanced cancer therapies, in industrial capacity in biomedicine, and in placing our country at the forefront of biotechnology in the service of public health and quality of life.”

Scientific, economic and social impact

For Laureano Simón, founder of Oncomatryx, “this capital increase is much more than a financial transaction. It confirms that Oncomatryx is ready to make the leap from a research company to an integrated biopharmaceutical firm. The backing of institutional and private investors who have been committed to this project for years allows us to move forward with building our own industrial infrastructure, which will strengthen Europe’s capacity to manufacture the cancer drugs of the future.”

Oncomatryx tackles cancer from a perspective different to the traditional one, targeting the tumour microenvironment, a key factor in tumour growth and resistance. This pioneering approach opens up new therapeutic avenues to improve the efficacy of treatments.

In fact, its drug, OMTX705, is currently in Phase 1B-2A clinical trials in humans, having completed an initial phase in which 100 patients were treated at leading hospitals in Spain and the United States, with encouraging results and high expectations in both clinical and scientific circles.

Oncomatryx has international licensing agreements with Asian biotechnology companies that validate its technology platform on a global scale, and has been recognised by the European Union as a strategic project through the EIC Accelerator programme, which has supported its development with €12.5 million.

This scientific standing places Oncomatryx in a unique position within the development of new cancer therapies.

The investment will also help position the Basque Country as a key hub in the field of advanced cancer therapies, creating skilled jobs and attracting high value-added industrial activity.