Founded by a team of scientists and healthcare specialists in 2021, Nintx harnesses compounds from Brazil’s world-famous plant ecosystems to develop treatments for complex, multifactorial diseases such as metabolic, immunological, cancer, and brain disorders.
The startup unearths disease targets via data-focused technologies that simulate the gastrointestinal system and map out networks of proteins, the human microbiome and plant compounds. It then develops therapies that can tackle diseases directly by binding to drug targets or indirectly by changing the function of the human microbiome.
The Series A round follows on from a $3 million seed investment led by the Brazilian investor Pitanga in 2022 and accompanies a $2.5 million grant from the compatriot public company Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP). The round, which included cash from investors including Pitanga and strategic partners Tiaraju and Adeste, will help Nintx to develop eight new drug programs, take on staff and technology in addition to expanding its laboratory facility.
Developing therapies from Brazil’s rich ecosystems
Nintx plans to develop therapies to the end of the preclinical stage before licensing them out to pharmaceutical players for clinical development and commercialization, with its lead candidate, sourced from the Amazon and intended for an undisclosed cardiometabolic indication, expected to be licensed within three years.
“In the US and Europe, biopharmaceutical startups that begin licensing innovative drugs to major pharma companies can achieve valuations in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We believe Nintx has the potential to follow the same trajectory,” said Gabriel Perez, managing partner at Pitanga, in a public statement.
Nintx works with the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) to identify active compounds from plants with the help of the latter’s natural products library, screening technology and particle accelerator. The startup also collaborates with the Center for Innovation and Preclinical Trials (CIEnP) to discover medicinal plants that could lead to therapies for chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Leadership changes to support growth
Nintx will also see its co-founder Stephani Saverio step into the CEO role next year as current CEO Miller Freitas becomes the firm’s chief development officer.
While most companies in Brazil focus on established technologies, reducing the nation’s global competitiveness, Nintx is a “rare case” that aims to blaze its own trail in plant-based pharmaceuticals, Saverio stated.
