Partner
TIBEAY is developing a treatment for a medical challenge that has so far remained unsolved. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), frequently the result of severe accidents, ranks among the leading causes of death worldwide and can result in long-term disability. An estimated 50 million new cases occur globally each year, of which approximately ten percent are classified as severe. In Europe alone, around 1.5 million hospital admissions are recorded annually. For patients and their families, this often means lifelong impairment, significantly reduced quality of life, and loss of independence. To date, no approved pharmacological therapies exist that specifically target the progressive damage associated with severe TBI.
While the primary injury is caused directly by the initial trauma, a substantial proportion of neurological complications arises from secondary processes. In particular, the generation of cell-damaging reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
With Ronopterin, TIBEAY pursues a targeted approach to selectively inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Following a brain injury, iNOS is upregulated and contributes to the formation of neurotoxic reactive species. By selectively inhibiting iNOS, Ronopterin reduces secondary brain damage and improves the neurological status and quality of life of patients with severe TBI.
Prof. Dr. John Stover, CMO of TIBEAY, adds:
“We are very close to a medical breakthrough: Ronopterin has the potential to offer, for the first time, an effective therapy for patients with severe traumatic brain injury – a patient population for which no approved treatment currently exists. Ronopterin has the potential to meaningfully improve neuropsychological outcomes and quality of life for those affected.”
Andreas Kastenbauer, Partner at MIG Capital, comments:
“With TIBEAY, we are investing in a highly promising therapeutic approach. Ronopterin targets a biological pathway whose medical significance was already recognised with the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998. As an investor, we aim to help close a therapeutic gap that has remained unaddressed for far too long.”