Founded as a spinoff of the University of Zurich and Havard University, EraCal is developing Era-107 a novel oral, highly selective appetite suppressor based on its best-in-class discovery platform technology. Its drug candidate, Era-107, the startup promises superior efficacy and safety compared to the available medicines, which are ineffective and brings unwanted side effects. By revolutionalising the obese patient therapy, EraCal addresses one of the most significant and growing societal health challenges, affecting close to a third of the global population. The company is now working towards bringing its anti-obesity drugs to the next level. Thanks to the oversubscribed seed round which involved the participation of investors such as Bernina BioInvest, Redalpine, Life Sciences Fund as private investors. The seed investment will enable EraCal to conduct the preclinical development of its lead appetite suppressor and to expand its platform to new indications. Josua Jordi, CEO and Co-founder of EraCal (photo, right), commented: “We are extremely excited to receive the support and partnership from this group of top-tier health-tech investors to help us achieve our mission.” Building a steady track recordIn addition to the seed capital, EraCal secured CHF over 750K in non-dilutive financing, won VentureKick 2019, and the Life Sciences Fund invested CHF 1M to kick off the lead optimization process. Recently the company also won the BioBusiness-MIT Life Science Angels Award in Boston, giving it the opportunity to travel to the U.S. to present their solution to a global audience. Reflecting on the significance of winning the award, Jordi said, “The award is a distinction for our novel drug discovery strategy and indicates the huge medical need in our target therapeutic areas. The visit to Boston enabled us to start new connections and meet old friends from our time at Harvard. The trip gave us an impression on the competition in the US-startup scene, enabled a quick comparison, and indicated where we want to go in the future.”(RAN)Photo: Simon Breitler (COO) & Josua Jordi (CEO)