A Chicago biotech startup that's developing treatments for central nervous system movement disorders raised a round of funding to bring its therapies to market.
Emalex Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical startup founded in 2018, raised $35 million this week in a round led by Paragon Biosciences, a Chicago-based life sciences incubator and fund. Other backers include Fidelity and Valor Equity Partners, a Chicago VC fund led by Antonio Gracias whose previous investments include Tesla and SpaceX.
Emalex is developing a drug therapy for pediatric Tourette syndrome and stuttering. The startup says there are currently three Phase 2 clinical trials underway for its medicine, which will evaluate the efficacy and safety of its drug.
The startup says that there are 70 million people worldwide who suffer from stuttering, which currently has no FDA-approved treatment.
"Our goal is to change that," Emalex Chief Medical Officer Atul R. Mahableshwarkar said in a statement.
Emalex is one of Paragon's of seven portfolio companies. Since its launch in 2017, Paragon says it, along with its investment partners, has invested $1 billion to accelerate the development of novel therapies and life science breakthroughs. It plans to invest up to $500 million a year in the areas of biopharmaceuticals, cell and gene therapy and synthetic biology, Paragon said.
