Participated · Series A · May 2021

Stegra is an ailing Swedish startup focused on building the world’s biggest green-steel plant. The company has been seeking substantial new capital to complete construction of the facility and to remain in business. Reportedly, Stegra sought 15 billion SEK in fresh funding to stabilize operations and finish the project. A Wallenberg-led investor group committed 7–8 billion SEK as part of that financing, becoming the company’s largest shareholder. The funding was presented as a rescue package to ensure the plant’s completion. The article did not provide operational metrics such as revenue, users, or prior financing details.

Participated · Series C · Nov 2018

OMEICOS Therapeutics is developing first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics derived from omega-3 fatty acid metabolism, with a lead candidate OMT-28. OMT-28 is an orally available synthetic analogue of omega-3–derived epoxyeicosanoids with improved biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties. The company plans to expand OMT-28’s clinical development into Primary Mitochondrial Disease (PMD) and other indications including inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. OMEICOS received a €2.5 million grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the “KMU-innovativ: Biomedizin” program to co-finance an upcoming Phase 2a clinical study in PMD. The Phase 2a study design received first approvals from regulatory authorities in April 2023 and will be conducted in leading European clinical centres for mitochondrial pathologies. In prior development, OMT-28 showed an excellent safety profile across two clinical trials involving 162 individuals and demonstrated effects on biomarkers including GDF-15, IL-6, PTX-3 and hs-CRP. The BMBF funding supplements the company’s own investment and is presented as validation for advancing OMT-28 into PMD. OMEICOS develops first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics—metabolically robust synthetic analogues of omega-3–derived epoxyeicosanoids—that activate anti-arrhythmic, cardioprotective and anti-inflammatory pathways. Its lead candidate, OMT-28, is being advanced for atrial fibrillation and has shown favorable safety and pharmacokinetic properties versus natural counterparts. The company plans to use the financing to fund PROMISE-AF, a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized, dose-finding Phase II study of OMT-28 for maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion in persistent atrial fibrillation. OMEICOS is also expanding its pipeline into ophthalmology; its U.S.-based subsidiary OMEICOS Ophthalmics (established in Boston in August 2017) is pursuing preclinical programs for macular edema, wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy. The compounds are orally available and intended to offer improved biological activity and dosing convenience compared with existing treatments. The Series C proceeds will support pivotal-stage development plans in atrial fibrillation and continued work on novel indications including ophthalmology. OMEICOS Therapeutics is a Berlin-based biopharmaceutical spin-off from the Max Delbrueck Center developing first-in-class, orally available small-molecule therapeutics that mimic omega-3–derived lipid mediators. Its proprietary synthetic epoxyeicosanoid analogues aim to prevent and treat inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases and show improved biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties versus natural counterparts. The company secured an extension of its recently closed Series B financing from US-based REMIGES Ventures, which joins an existing investor consortium including Vesalius Biocapital II, a SMS Group company, VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, Hightech Gründerfonds II and KfW. Financial details of the additional investment were not disclosed. Proceeds will fund expansion of the technology into ophthalmology, including preclinical testing of multiple compounds and routes of administration for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. In conjunction with the extension, OMEICOS established a U.S. subsidiary, OMEICOS Ophthalmics, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support the new ophthalmic development efforts and access local biotech expertise. OMEICOS is advancing orally available, metabolically robust synthetic analogues of omega-3 fatty acid–derived epoxyeicosanoids as small-molecule therapeutics with organ- and tissue-protective properties. Its lead candidate, OMT-28, is a stable synthetic analog optimized for efficacy, safety and oral bioavailability and has shown anti-arrhythmic and cardioprotective potential in in vivo models. OMT-28 is currently being evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study in Germany. The company recently received approval of an approximately €1.7 million research grant from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to advance a specific research project. That grant covers half of the project investment, with the other half funded from a Series B round closed earlier this year. As part of the Ascenion Spinnovator program and the Series B proceeds, OMEICOS has secured roughly €4 million in non-dilutive funding to date. The funds will be used to advance clinical development in atrial fibrillation and to explore other potential applications of its mode of action within cardiovascular disease and beyond. OMEICOS is a spin-off from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. OMEICOS develops metabolically robust synthetic analogs of omega‑3 fatty acid epoxyeicosanoids, with lead candidate OMT‑28 optimized for high efficacy, safety and oral bioavailability. OMT‑28 is a stable synthetic analog of the natural metabolite 17,18‑EEQ and has shown anti‑arrhythmic and cardioprotective effects in in vivo experimental models. The company is initially focused on atrial fibrillation and other inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, while noting potential wider application across disease areas. OMEICOS has initiated a first‑in‑human, randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled Phase 1 study in Germany to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single and multiple ascending doses in up to 100 healthy volunteers. Research was originated as a spin‑off from the Max Delbrueck Center and is supported in part by a grant from the German Ministry of Education and Research. The company intends to use clinical data to progress rapidly toward a subsequent Phase 2 trial.