Dortmund, Germany, March 15th, 2022 – UGISense AG today announces that it entered into an agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in animal health, to collaborate on the research in the field of animal parasitic diseases.

Under the agreement, UGISense will provide parasite-specific Ugimers™ to Boehringer Ingelheim. These Ugimers™ will be tested in models for parasitic diseases with high relevance to evaluate their ability to suppress parasite development and maturation.

Dr. Birgit Werner and Dr. Thomas Lindhorst, Managing Directors of UGISense said: “While we understand the efficacy of Ugimers™ quite well in human diseases like cancer, metabolic diseases and neurology, the animal disease application is new to us.

It will be very interesting to see the Ugimer™ potential in the field of parasite diseases as these diseases have a high relevance in pet as well as in farm animal segments.”

No financial details were disclosed.

About UGISense AG

UGISense AG is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing Ugimers™ a new innovative type of antisense drugs.  To leverage the potential of the Ugimer™ technology, UGISense AG has set up programs in the fields of oncology, rare muscular dystrophies, peripheral neuropathies, metabolic diseases, and kidney diseases.

The company is situated in Dortmund/Germany and financed by private investors, the Lead Discovery Center Dortmund GmbH and Seed Capital II GmbH.

About Ugimers^TM

Ugimers^TM are short peptidic oligonucleotide sequences capable of interacting with single-stranded DNA or RNA by forming a double strand. Due to such double-strand formation, disease-relevant proteins will be specifically prevented from forming at all or will be reduced to a modified stage. This mechanism achieves a therapeutic influence on diseases at a very early stage of intervention. Structurally, Ugimers^TM are derived from peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) to which important pharmacological functions have been added by way of chemical modifications.

For closer detail visit www.ugisense.com

Contact

E.: contact@ugisense.com
T.: +49 – 231 – 9742 70063

About Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health

The lives of animals and humans are interconnected in deep and complex ways. We know that when animals are healthy, humans are healthier too. Across the globe, our 9,700 employees are dedicated to delivering value through innovation, thus enhancing the well-being of both.

Respect for animals, humans and the environment is at the heart of what we do. We develop solutions and provide services to protect animals from disease and pain. We support our customers in taking care of the health of their animals and protect our communities against life- and society-threatening diseases.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is the second largest animal health business in the world, with net sales of 4.1 billion euros in 2020 and presence in more than 150 countries. For more information visit: www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/animal-health/overview

Dortmund, Germany, April 29^th, 2021 – UGISense AG announced the closing of its Series B financing round today. UGISense AG is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing a new innovative type of antisense drugs that solve the challenges and limitations of this technology.

Antisense drugs interact via the genetic code in a specific manner with RNA. By this mode of action disease-relevant proteins will be blocked or modified in a specific way. This allows a therapeutic intervention at a very early stage of the respective disease and to treat diseases even when they are not accessible to small molecules or antibodies.

All existing main investors participated in this financing, including Lead Discovery Center and SeedCapital II.

Dr. Birgit Werner and Dr. Thomas Lindhorst, Managing Directors of UGISense said, “This financing round recognizes the exciting progress our company has made, especially in oncology, and we look forward to further developing our program in this field into pre-clinical and clinical phases. The proceeds of the financing will also support the continued development of the existing Ugimer™ programs and the further growth of the business.”

“UGISense has executed on its ambitious business strategy to document the broad applicability of Ugimers™, especially in oncology but also in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Charcot Marie Tooth 1A and NASH to fulfil the antisense drugs’ promise of our technology,” said Dr. Nicole Wistuba, Chairman of the UGISense Board. “We greatly value the continued support of our strong investor base towards the further development of UGISense.”

The funding follows the Series A financing announced in June 2018. The previous financing has enabled UGISense to develop and expand the proprietary Ugimer™ antisense technology and prove the broad applicability of Ugimers™ in different indications with high unmet medical need.

In both financing rounds, UGISense AG was advised by the law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek.

About UGISense AG

UGISense AG is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing a new innovative type of antisense drugs. The developments are made on the basis of a proprietary platform technology, the Ugimers^TM. The company is financed by private investors, the Lead Discovery Center Dortmund GmbH and Seed Capital II GmbH, and has been accredited by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) (within the scope of their Venture Capital Grants program).

About Ugimers^TM

Ugimers^TM are short peptidic oligonucleotide sequences capable of interacting with RNA by forming a double strand. Due to said double-strand formation, disease-relevant proteins will be specifically prevented from forming at all or will be reduced to only a modified stage. This mechanism achieves a therapeutic influence on diseases at a very early stage of intervention. Structurally, Ugimers^TM are derived from peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) to which important pharmacological functions have been added by way of chemical modifications.

For closer detail visit www.ugisense.com

Contact
E.: contact@ugisense.com
T.: +49 231 9742 70063

About SeedCapital II

SeedCapital Dortmund II GmbH & Co. KG participates in young, innovative companies in the Dortmund region. The group of partners comprises the Sparkasse Dortmund and the NRW.BANK as well as private investors. Together with financing partners, the fund provides participation capital in a seven-digit range. Cooperation partners include the locally based competence centres, such as the Technologiezentrum Dortmund, the BioMedizinZentrum, the MST.factory as well as the Centre of Production Technology (ZfP Dortmund).

Contact
E.: info@seed-do.de
T.: +49 231 183-31412

About Lead Discovery Center

Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need. The LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads and antibodies that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals as well as candidate nomination. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from research and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule and antibody leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential. LDC sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society, KHAN-I GmbH & Co.KG and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck KGaA, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, Roche, Apeiron, e.g. In addition, LDC also works with leading translational drug discovery centers and with various investors to provide its assets for company creation. Further information at: www.lead-discovery.de.

Contact
E.: pr@lead-discovery.de
T.: +49 231 9742 7000

Dortmund, June 19, 2018 – Following the seed financing round in 2016, UGISense AG has again been able to successfully complete a funding round.

In addition to all founding investors (experienced business angels in the field of biotechnology and the Lead Discovery Center Dortmund), SeedCapital II KG from Dortmund as well as the experienced business angel Dr. Uwe Jacob (Westend-Innovation), and healthcare specialist Samuel Stursberg could be convinced of the potential of UGISense AG for this funding round.
After the investment has been completed, the headquarters of the company will be transferred from Munich to Dortmund.

The capital enables UGISense to fuel the development and expansion of their proprietary antisense technology (Ugimers™) at the new site. The main goal is to document the broad applicability of the Ugimers™ in different cooperation projects with LDC, but also with partners from the industry and academia and to develop compounds for the corresponding targets. Current projects include areas such as oncology, metabolic diseases as well as muscular dystrophies.

We are very happy that, in addition to all of the seed investors, we have also been able to fill new investors with enthusiasm for our technology”, say Dr. Birgit Werner and Dr. Thomas Lindhorst, the members of the executive board. “The fresh capital enables us to further distinguish the superiority of the ugimer technology compared to other antisense technologies and to prove the same by means of an extensive pool of data.

>> Contact
UGISense
E.: contact@ugisense.com
T.: +49 231 9742 7063

SeedCapital II
E.: info@seed-do.de
T.: +49 231 1833 34201

Lead Discovery Center
E.: PR@lead-discovery.de
T.: +49 231 9742 7000

About UGISense AG
UGISense AG is a biotech company dedicated to developing new and innovative antisense drugs in collaboration with partners from the industry and academia. The developments are made on the basis of a proprietary platform technology, i.e. the UgimersTM. The company, which was first established in 2016, is being financed by private investors, the Lead Discovery Center Dortmund GmbH and the Seed Capital II GmbH and has been accredited by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) (within the scope of their Venture Capital Grants program).

>> for more details please go to www.ugisense.com

About Ugimers
UgimersTM are short oligonucleotide sequences capable of interacting with single-stranded DNA or RNA by forming a double strand. Thanks to said double-strand formation, disease-relevant proteins will be specifically prevented from forming altogether or will be reduced to only a modified stage. This makes it possible to therapeutically influence the development of diseases at a very early stage of intervention. Structurally, UgimersTM are derived from peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) to which important pharmacological functions have been added by way of chemical modifications.
 

About SeedCapital II
The SeedCapital Dortmund II GmbH & Co. KG participates in young, innovative companies in the Dortmund region. Our group of partners comprises the Sparkasse Dortmund and the NRW.BANK as well as private investors. Together with our financing partners, we are able to provide a participation capital in a seven-digit range. Our cooperation partners especially include the locally based competence centres, such as the Technologiezentrum Dortmund, the BioMedizinZentrum, the MST.factory as well as the Centre of Production Technology (ZfP Dortmund).
 

About LDC
The Lead Discovery Center (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need.
The LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals. In close collaboration with high- profile partners from academia and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential.
The LDC sustains a preferred partnership with the Max Planck Society and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Merck KGaA, Qurient, Roche, Sotio and various VCs as well as leading translational drug discovery centers around the globe.


>> for more details please go to www.lead-discovery.de

Dortmund, October 12, 2016 – Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) and the biotech company UGISense AG are about to initiate a collaboration to jointly develop innovative drugs using the proprietary Ugimeres^TM antisense platform. Additionally, LDC will acquire a minority stake in UGISense AG during a first 1.2 million Euros financing round involving several private investors. The partnership aims at combining the potential of the innovative Ugimeres antisense platform with LDC’s drug discovery expertise and target know-how to maximize synergies and jointly commercialize successful projects.

“We see the Ugimeres platform as a highly exciting addition to our own in-house drug discovery technologies. We believe that the drug class of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) offers enormous potential especially in the innovative field of microRNAs and for so far ‘undruggable’ targets”, says Dr. Bert Klebl, CEO of the LDC. “We look forward to working closely with the UGISense team and to jointly advance our first pilot projects”.

“We are very excited about the successful financing of UGISense AG and welcome our new partner LDC. This partnership will allow us to focus closely on the high-quality development and commercialization of Ugimeres as innovative drugs for targets with high unmet medical need”, says Dr. Thomas Lindhorst of UGISense AG’s executive board.

About UGISense AG

UGISense AG is a biotech company dedicated to developing new and innovative antisense drugs in collaboration with partners from the industry and academia. The developments are made on the basis of a proprietary platform technology, i.e. the Ugimeres^TM. The company, which was first established in 2016, is being financed by private investors and has been accredited by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) (within the scope of their Venture Capital Grants program).

About Ugimeres^TM

Ugimeres^TM are short oligonucleotide sequences capable of interacting with single-stranded DNA or RNA by forming a double strand. Thanks to said double-strand formation, disease-relevant proteins will be specifically prevented from forming altogether or will be reduced to only a modified stage. This makes it possible to therapeutically influence the development of diseases at a very early stage of intervention. Structurally, Ugimeres^TM are derived from peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) to which important pharmacological functions have been added by way of chemical modifications.

For more details please go to: www.ugisense.com

Contact

Dr. Thomas Lindhorst

1. +43 (0)664 9123146
2. thomas.lindhorst@ugisense.com

UGISense AG

• c/o Nordwind Capital GmbH
• Residenzstrasse 18
• 80333 Munich

About Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC)

LDC was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need.

The LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals. In close collaboration with high-profile partners from academia and industry, the LDC is building a strong and growing portfolio of small molecule leads with exceptional medical and commercial potential.

The LDC sustains a preferred partnership with the Max Planck Society and has formed alliances with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, Daiichi Sankyo, Qurient, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Roche as well as leading translational drug discovery centers around the globe.

For more details please go to: www.lead-discovery.de

Contact

Thomas Hegendörfer
T. +49.231.97 42 70 02
E. hegendoerfer@lead-discovery.de

Lead Discovery Center GmbH
Otto-Hahn-Strasse 15
44227 Dortmund