An early-stage drug discovery company led by three professors from different Milwaukee-area universities is advancing closer to human clinical trials after raising seed funding from a new local angel investing group.
Estrigenix Therapeutics Inc. secured $150,000 from the Concordia Angel Network, a newly formed angel investing group associated with Concordia University Wisconsin's CU Ventures, according to a May 3 announcement. The company is developing drug treatments for menopause and potentially Alzheimer’s disease.
The startup is using the funds to lease space at the accelerator building at UWM’s Innovation Campus in Wauwatosa. The funding will also help "prime the pump" for a larger venture capital raise of $2 million to $3 million that could come later this year, Estrigenix's vice president of business development and CU Ventures president Daniel Sem said via email.
The $150,000 Estrigenix deal is the first investment for the Concordia Angel Network, which was formed last year and is led by Curt Gielow, the former executive dean of Concordia's School of Pharmacy.
Estrigenix started in 2018 as a collaboration between Sem, a business and pharmaceutical sciences professor at Concordia; Marquette University professor emeritus William Donaldson, who serves as Estrigenix's acting CEO; and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Karyn Frick, who serves as Estrigenix's chief scientific officer.
The team is developing a compound to alleviate hot flashes and improve memory for menopausal women in a way that doesn't increase the risk of breast cancer, Donaldson said in a statement. The treatment could also potentially help prevent Alzheimer’s symptoms and help the researchers understand why the disease is more common in women, he said.
Estrigenix needs additional funding to do the preclinical studies required to secure regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for phases one and two of the human clinical trials, according to the recent announcement.
Sem, who wears many hats in the local bioscience and startup ecosystem, was recognized as one of Wisconsin Inno's 2021 Fire Award winners.
