Gelesis received more than $84 million in new funding

recently,
biotech company Gelesis announced $84.6 million in new funding. Gelesis received nearly $100 million this year to support the launch of Plenity's ™.The latest round of equity financing totaled $63.4 million, led by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners. The company intends to use the funds to strengthen its strategic start-up program and use its early business experience to prepare for the large-scale commercialization of ™ in the United States. Based on the location of Gelesis' proprietary production facility, the company also received US$ 12.9 million (EUR 11.7 million) from the European Regional Development Fund, which is regulated by the Puglia Region of Italy. This allocation from the European Regional Development Fund, together with the $10.6 million (EUR 9.4 million) grant announced in April 2019, brings gelesis' total non-diluted funding this year to $23.5 million. The company has also further increased its financial flexibility by entering into a long-term, low-interest loan agreement of $8.3 million.Gelesis is a clinical biotech company dedicated to developing state-of-the-kind safety therapies to treat obese, overweight and diabetic patients. The company has developed a new hydrogel platform technology to treat obesity and other chronic diseases related to the gastrointestinal tract, and its main product, the Gelesis 100, is an oral-given smart pill made from safety materials generally recognized by the FDA. The pills are designed to play a drug role in the stomach and small intestine, increasing satiety and reducing hunger, leading to reduced calorie intake for weight loss.The pill helps overweight and obese adults with a BMI of 25-40 kg / m to control their weight. Plenity ™ made by interlinking two naturally derived structural units (modified cellulose and citric acid), which create a three-dimensional structure. Large amounts of particles quickly absorb moisture from the stomach and mix it evenly with the food you eat. Instead of forming an entire large block of gels, Plenity ™ creates thousands of small gel blocks that are elastic (strong) to solid plant-based foods, such as vegetables, and are calorie-free. Plenity ™ hydrogels increase the volume and elasticity of stomach and small intestine contents and provide a feeling of satiety. Once the hydrogel reaches the large intestine, it is partially broken down by enzymes, losing its three-dimensional structure and most of its absorption capacity. The released water is re-absorbed in the large intestine, while the rest of the cellulose material is removed through the body's natural digestion process. In addition, the company is developing a second candidate, gelesis200, a hydrogel optimized for weight loss and blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. This new Gelesis hydrogel technology has also been developed in other gastrointestinal diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty hepatitis and chronic idyllycable constipation.Yishai Zohar, founder and CEO of Gelesis, said, "We are pleased to start this partnership with Vitruvian Partners, which is created to drive rapid growth and change across the industry, which is very much in line with our original intention to launch this first product. With this new funding, Gelesis will strengthen the company's strategic start-up program and leverage our earlier business experience to prepare us for the large-scale commercialization of Plenity ™ in the United States. Theabout Vitruvian Partners , an international private equity firm headquartered in London with offices in London, Stockholm, Munich, Luxembourg, San Francisco and Shanghai. The company focuses on industry dynamics, focusing on rapid growth and change in industries including information technology, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, media, and business and consumer services. Vitruvian Partners is currently investing in its third fund, a 2.4 billion euro fund, one of the largest pools in Europe to support innovative and high-growth companies. Vitruvian Funds supports more than 45 companies with assets under management of approximately $5.5 billion. The company's previous investments in life sciences innovators include companies such as Doctari, CRF Health, ADA Health and Dental Monitoring.
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