The ehealth startup, Prospera Biotech, from the UMH Science Park, has decided to open a financing round through crowdfunding with Capital Cell, the main European equity crowdfunding platform specialized in biotechnology and life sciences, for a value of 600,000 euros.
The company was born in 2019 to apply the scientific research carried out at the IDIBE-UMH in the formulation of dermatological products that act by neuromodulation, with a capital of 50,000 euros and today is valued at 11 million euros. The company had already attended a financing round in 2021 in which it obtained 200,000 euros to finance its developments and strengthen its commercial network.
The current expansion, with a minimum investment of 1,000 euros, represents 5.15% of the company’s shares and there is a significant discount of 25% during the first weeks of the public round, open from March 23. In this way, Prospera Biotech intends to open the doors of the company to all those who are interested in financing cancer research.
The CEO of Prospera Biotech, the biomedical Marta Garcia Escolanostates about the objectives of this round of financing: “We intend to finance international scientific studies that support the efficacy of our products, especially those intended for the care of cancer patients, finish establishing our commercial network in Spain and start the leap to international distribution”.
Prospera Biotech products use innovative neuromodulation mechanisms (which act on the terminals of the peripheral nervous system) to relieve the discomfort of sensitive skin caused by clinical treatments or pathological conditions. These products are the result of more than 20 years of IDIBE-UMH research aimed at improving the quality of life of people who experience sensations such as itching, pain, numbness, tingling or loss of sensitivity.
Oncapsisens: the triumph in the portfolio of Prospera Biotech
oncapsisens is a neuromodulatory cream formulated by the company that has been shown in a pilot study to improve the quality of life of patients undergoing chemotherapy. This study was carried out in 4 national hospitals and it was observed how 80% of the participants with sensory discomfort caused by chemotherapy treatment improved the impact of this discomfort in their daily activity.
These properties have given it great acceptance among oncologists and patients, to the point of becoming the company’s flagship product. Now Prospera Biotech wants to show that it also It is effective as a pre-treatment care.
The next step for Prospera Biotech, financed in part by this capital increase, is to carry out a new international study to validate the protective power of Oncapsisens. This new study has already been approved in 15 European hospitals and its clinical need is endorsed by a large number of oncologists who need tools to prevent the neuropathic discomfort caused by harsh antitumor treatments.
Currently, sensory disturbances induced by chemotherapy, among which is peripheral neuropathy, do not even have a specific pharmacological treatment (the most serious cases are being treated with capsaicin patches, antiepileptics or antidepressants, treatments with limited efficacy and effects secondary). The problem arises when these discomforts become so unpleasant that treatment is reduced or abandoned, which occurs in approximately 60% of patients treated with chemotherapy, so a product that offers protection to the skin against toxicity would be an alternative long awaited by oncologists and patients.
