Coave Announces €32 Million in Funding for Next-Gen Genetic Medicines

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Coave Therapeutics, headquartered in Paris, announced in a press release on Jan. 9, 2025 that it has secured €32 million (US$33 million) in Series A financing that will allow Coave to advance its proprietary Advanced Vectors-Ligand Conjugates (ALIGATER) platform (1).

The company said the financing was co-led by Novo Holdings and Bpifrance with participation from leading United States and European Union investors Invus and UI Investissement, respectively, plus existing investors Seroba Life Sciences, Fund+, Kurma Partners, Omnes Capital, and Turenne Capital (1).

“We are delighted to welcome this group of top-tier investors who share our vision for the ALIGATER platform,” Rodolphe Clerval, Coave CEO, said in the release. “This funding is a critical milestone for Coave as we work to develop a new generation of targeted, safer, and more efficacious gene therapies. It also reinforces our ability to expand collaborations with pharma and biotech partners, driving innovation in the field of genetic medicines for a broad range of diseases.”

ALIGATER is described by Coave as a breakthrough technology that addresses certain limitations in the delivery of genetic payloads to extra-hepatic tissues: chiefly limited tissue specificity, delivery efficiency, and safety (1). By enabling the conjugation of targeting ligands—whether small molecules, peptides, or antibody fragments—on either adeno-associated virus or non-viral vectors, Coave said the platform can be adapted for a wide range of diseases, all while streamlining manufacturing processes.

An additional use of the funding is intended for the advancement of Coave’s lead preclinical assets toward clinical development, primarily focusing on central nervous system, neuromuscular, and eye diseases, with designs on moving two development candidates into the study phase in 2026 (1).

“Coave’s unique technology platform, strong proof-of-concept data, and experienced team positions it as a leader in developing new generations of gene therapies,” Emmanuelle Coutanceau, partner at Seed Investments, Novo Holdings, said in the release. “We are excited to see Coave acquiring one of our stealth-mode companies, broadening their international presence in Denmark.”

"Coave, with its ALIGATER platform for creating a new class of targeted gene therapies, has the potential to deliver groundbreaking new treatments to patients in need," added Jean-François Morin, investment director at Bpifrance–InnoBio Funds. "With this Series A financing and a top-tier team, Coave will be able to progress its pipeline of internal programs."

In a move connected to the financing, Coutanceau and Morin will both join the Coave board of directors, according to the press release (1).

Novo Holdings and Bpifrance were both also recent investors in $181.4 million in Series D funding secured by the clinical-stage biotherapeutics company Alentis Therapeutics to develop a pipeline of Claudin-1-targeted antibody-drug conjugate drugs for treating solid tumors. That financing was announced in November 2024 (2).

References

1. Coave Therapeutics. Coave Therapeutics Secures €32 Million ($33 Million) in Series A Financing to Advance its Next-Generation Genetic Medicines. Press Release. Jan. 9, 2025.
2. Alentis Therapeutics. Alentis Therapeutics Raises $181.4 Million in an Oversubscribed Series D Financing to Advance the Clinical Development of Anti-Claudin-1 ADCs in Solid Tumors. Press Release. Nov. 12, 2024.