Spain-based drug discovery company Oniria Therapeutics has raised EUR 1.28 million (USD 1.4 million) in a seed funding round led by Mind the Gap, a biotech entrepreneurship program, with participation from BStartup of Banco Sabadell, angel investors, and public funding.

The funding will be used to enhance the development of its lead drug candidate, ONR-001, which is designed to eliminate persistent tumor cells that remain after traditional treatments. 

Oniria Therapeutics is developing precision oncology therapies focused on eliminating persistent tumor cells that are responsible for cancer progression. Its lead and only drug candidate, ONR-001, is a first-in-class molecule that activates TET2, an epigenetic enzyme, inducing a dormant state in tumor cells and has the potential to lead to their death. This approach can be applied at various stages of the disease, ranging from early primary tumors to recurrent metastatic cancer that is resistant to treatment. The company was established in 2021 as a spinoff from the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona, and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies.