During the last day of SALSS (the Swedish-American Life Science Summit) 2021 in Stockholm, the winner of the Rising Star Award was announced.

And the lucky winner was… EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals.

“The winner of SALSS 2021 Rising Stars is EpiEndo for its level of innovation and potential impact in COPD, one of the leading causes of debilitating disease and death globally. EpiEndo is developing a candidate drug with a novel mode of action that, if successfully brought to the patients, could change the treatment paradigm for COPD,” said Eugen Steiner, member of the award jury. “EpiEndo won the top scores from all judges in the criteria of innovation and impact, giving it the lead over competitors. However, the competition was remarkably close and I would like to especially mention a few runners-up: SAGA Diagnostics won the bronze, only one point behind, and Ilya and Vironova Bioanalytics, which tied for silver, the latter – not surprisingly – was noted by the judges for commercial realization.”

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals

In August the Icelandic company closed a 20 million EUR Series A financing round led by Iðunn Venture Fund and Flerie Invest, with existing investors ABC Ventures participating, along with the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund joining the round. EpiEndo focuses on a novel barrier enhancing approach to the treatment of chronic inflammatory airway diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Series A financing secures funds to advance clinical development of the company’s lead compound EP395, which entered phase I clinical trials in April, through Phase IIa, targeting COPD as a primary indication.

Read more: SALSS 2021 – A beloved tradition is back

Photo of Maria Bech, CEO, EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals