Tessara Therapeutics Pty Ltd, a Melbourne-based biotechnology company developing human mimetic tissues, has closed its Round 1 capital raising in the amount of $2.7 million, significantly over-subscribed. Tessara’s RealBrain™ technology – manufactured 3D human mimetic brain tissue – has near-market applications as a drug discovery model and longer-term applications as a tissue replacement therapy. Australian and New Zealand-based sophisticated investors participated, and a New South Wales syndicate led the round with approximately 55% of the investment. The NSW syndicate included several medical specialists who recognized the potential of the RealBrain™ technology as a breakthrough for the development of new drugs to treat neurological diseases with a great unmet medical need.

Concurrent with the completion of the investment, Tessara has expanded its Board of Directors with the appointment of Phillip Smith, an investment strategist with over 30 years of experience in portfolio management in Australia and overseas. Mr Smith joins fellow board members Dr Christos Papadimitriou, CEO and Managing Director; Christopher Boyer, Director and Head of Corporate and Strategic Development; and Dr Greg Collier, Independent Chairman.

Mr Smith commented, “We liked the team and the business model, and when the technology also resonated with the doctors, including a neurologist and neurosurgeon that we asked, it became clear that Tessara would be a good fit for our group of investors”.

Dr Collier remarked “I knew Tessara was investable from the first time I saw it. To close the round over-subscribed in the current economic environment is, in my view, indicative of the extraordinary potential of the Company and our innovative approach to breaking down the barriers that have long prevented the development of therapies for some of the most difficult neurological diseases.”

To enhance capital raising and business development capacity, Tessara has partnered with Bio-Link Australia Pty Ltd, a specialist biotechnology business development consultancy led by Dr Christian Toouli, Bio-Link Executive Director and Chief Commercial Officer of Tessara. Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is working with Tessara on research and development for their RealBrain™ technology, assisting with aspects of biology, materials synthesis and process development. With the completion of the capital raising, Tessara is able to intensify their focus on execution of the business plan to develop and commercialise their innovative RealBrain™ drug discovery platform and therapeutic applications.