Melbourne-based biotechnology company Tessara Therapeutics has raised $2.7 million through what it described as a significantly over-subscribed round one capital raise.
The company, which is focussed on human mimetic tissues, is developing its RealBrain technology – manufactured 3D human mimetic brain tissue – with potential application as a drug discovery model and additional longer-term applications as a tissue replacement therapy.
The RealBrain technology has the potential to support the development of new drugs to treat neurological diseases with unmet medical need.
The company said Australian and New Zealand-based sophisticated investors participated in the capital raise with one NSW-based investment syndicate leading the round with approximately 55 per cent of the investment. This syndicate included medical practitioners.
Tessara also announced the expansion of its board of directors with the appointment of Phillip Smith. Mr Smith brings over 30 years of experience in portfolio management in Australia and overseas. He joins fellow board members Dr Christos Papadimitriou, CEO and Managing Director; Christopher Boyer, Director and Head of Corporate and Strategic Development; and, Dr Greg Collier, Independent Chairman.
“We liked the team and the business model, and when the technology also resonated with the doctors, including a neurologist and neurosurgeon that we asked, it became clear that Tessara would be a good fit for our group of investors,” said Mr Smith.
Dr Collier added, “I knew Tessara was investable from the first time I saw it. To close the round over-subscribed in the current economic environment is, in my view, indicative of the extraordinary potential of the Company and our innovative approach to breaking down the barriers that have long prevented the development of therapies for some of the most difficult neurological diseases.”
The company said the CSIRO is already working with it on the development of the RealBrain technology, assisting with aspects of biology, materials synthesis and process development.