Oryzon Genomics raises €12m and secures €25m COFIDES commitment
Oryzon Genomics has completed a €12 million gross capital increase, issuing 4,444,445 new ordinary shares at €2.70 each, a 14.15% discount to the five-day volume-weighted average price and a 12.68% discount to the 30 June closing price. The Barcelona-listed biopharmaceutical company said proceeds will primarily advance its lead oncology candidate iadademstat in acute myeloid leukaemia, alongside its broader haematology and psychiatry pipeline, with the remainder earmarked for general corporate and administrative costs.
Singular Bank placed the shares in Spain, with All-Invest acting as placement agent across the EU and the UK. The transaction was structured without warrant issuance.
The COFIDES anchor commitment
Alongside the immediate raise, Oryzon signed a share subscription agreement with the Social Impact Fund managed by Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (COFIDES), a Spanish state-backed development finance institution attached to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. Under the deal, COFIDES has committed to subscribe up to €25 million in future Oryzon capital increases over the following six months, subject to corporate, financial, and impact-related conditions. The fund is financed through the European Union's NextGenerationEU programme under Spain's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
At least 40% of any proceeds drawn under the COFIDES agreement must be directed to mental health programmes, specifically Oryzon's Phase III-ready vafidemstat candidate in borderline personality disorder and related psychiatric conditions. The remainder may support CNS, oncology, and haematology research more broadly.
Chief executive Carlos Buesa described the COFIDES relationship as "far more than a financial commitment," adding that it represents "a recognition of the transformative potential of our mental health programs" and should raise the company's visibility with international specialist investors.
Market context and competitive landscape
Oryzon is one of a small number of companies globally advancing LSD1 inhibitors in a clinical setting. Its iadademstat programme has reported a 100% overall response rate in first-line AML in early-stage data, a figure that will require replication in larger, randomised cohorts before drawing firm conclusions. The AML space is crowded, with several approved venetoclax-based combinations and a pipeline of targeted agents from larger pharmaceutical groups, meaning partnership discussions, which Buesa explicitly referenced, will likely be competitive.
The psychiatric component of Oryzon's portfolio is less common territory for small-cap European biotechs. Borderline personality disorder in particular has historically been underserved by drug development, with no approved pharmacological therapy, which creates both commercial opportunity and clinical-trial design challenges. The COFIDES mandate requiring a minimum 40% allocation to mental health programmes locks in that strategic priority, a constraint that could affect fundraising flexibility in future rounds if the AML programme demands heavier resourcing.
The €12 million raise is relatively modest for a company carrying multiple Phase I, II, and Phase III-ready programmes. Investors will be watching whether the COFIDES commitment can be fully drawn and whether iadademstat data presented at upcoming haematology congresses catalyses a more substantial partnership or licensing deal to underpin the next phase of development.