The funds, raised in a new target share issue, will facilitate continued growth and take the company through the first clinical study and planning of the upcoming Phase II study of its drug candidate, ILP-100, for faster wound healing.

“We have been working hard on closing this issue during the summer and are delighted to have succeeded. There has been a lot of interest and we have achieved all of our goals – identifying and hiring consultants and key team members with vast knowledge and in-depth experience in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and life science,” says Evelina Vågesjö, CEO of Ilya Pharma.

Ilya has developed its own proprietary technology platform based on the use of living lactic acid bacteria. Wound healing in skin and mucosa are accelerated as human healing proteins are injected directly into the wounds. Large and chronic wounds are a huge problem all over the world, causing great pain for patients and costing huge amounts to treat.

“Our goal is to accelerate the healing process by at least 80 percent, thus reducing patient suffering, significantly reducing costs and antibiotic use,” says Evelina Vågesjö.

Validate the manufacturing process

The final safety studies were carried out and GMP production is now under way. In parallel, the company has been given the opportunity to further validate the manufacturing process on a large scale and build valuable industrial knowledge at GE Healthcare’s newly-opened Testa Center in Uppsala.

“This is a comparatively very well-funded project. Added to the Euros 3 million we already received from the EU Horizon 2020 project ( SME Instrument Phase II), the new funding provides a great opportunity to run the project along proper timescales and come through Phase I smoothly into Phase II. We always work in this goal-oriented way and I am very pleased with the new owners, especially that they recognise the true value of the project and want to contribute with their own expertise and networks. The journey continues and we now even more motivated to ensure that the product is of major clinical benefit to potential patients,” says Vågesjö.

Photo of Evelina Vågesjö and Ilya Pharma: Martina Sjaunja