CDTI Innovación invests in Ona Therapeutics, together with five co-investors

The Innvierte SICC of CDTI Innovación invests in Ona Therapeutics, together with five co-investors, to develop new innovative therapies using ADCs that target advanced cancer

Ona Therapeutics is a pioneer in the development of first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that leverage the molecular basis of advanced cancer. Through collaboration with academic and clinical experts, the company focuses on delivering new and effective treatments for patients who currently have no therapeutic alternatives.

Patients with advanced cancer often undergo multiple lines of treatment and frequently exhaust all available options. A key challenge lies in the limited understanding of how cancer evolves across treatment lines, which hinders the identification of new therapeutic targets with meaningful potential.

The company aims to develop novel therapies with unprecedented efficacy based on a deep understanding of the biology and plasticity of refractory cancer. By incorporating real samples from refractory patients, Ona Therapeutics identifies how standard treatments transform cancer at the molecular level. This strategy allows the company to identify therapeutic targets beyond traditional tumor antigens and to define new patient populations in which these therapies will be highly effective.

CDTI Innovación, through its Innvierte program, has completed an investment in the company alongside Asabys Partners (through its funds SABADELL ASABYS HEALTH INNOVATION INVESTMENTS, S.C.R., S.A. and ASABYS TOP UP FUND, FCR), Ysios Capital Partners (through YSIOS BIOFUND III, FCRE), ALTA LIFE SCIENCES SPAIN I FCR, and FUNDPLUS NV, with a total investment amount of €10 million. Through this participation, CDTI Innovación contributes to the development of ADCs and antibody-based therapies aimed at providing new and effective treatments for patients with advanced cancer who currently lack alternatives.

Asabys Partners

Asabys Partners is a Barcelona-based venture capital firm focused on health and life sciences innovation, including biopharma, medical technology, and digital health. Founded in 2018 by Josep Ll. Sanfeliu and Clara Campàs, the firm’s goal is to support highly innovative and transformative technologies that address unmet medical needs.

Asabys manages €400 million in assets and has invested in around 25 companies. The firm invested in Ona Therapeutics through its first fund, composed of SABADELL ASABYS HEALTH INNOVATION INVESTMENTS, S.C.R., S.A. and ASABYS TOP UP FUND, FCR.

Asabys positions itself not only as an investor but as an active and collaborative partner to its portfolio companies, aiming to translate disruptive science into meaningful patient outcomes. The firm also co-manages, together with AltamarCAM, the fund ALTA LIFE SCIENCES SPAIN I FCR, also an investor in Ona Therapeutics.

Ysios Capital Partners

Ysios Capital is a leading Spanish venture capital firm providing financing to highly innovative life sciences companies developing treatments for indications with significant unmet medical needs.

With offices in San Sebastián and Barcelona, its diverse team of professionals aims to transform capital into medical advances with a positive impact on society. Founded in 2008, Ysios manages over €400 million in assets across three funds and also serves as investment advisor to the publicly traded Telescope Biotech Fund, managed by Andbank Wealth Management.

Ysios invested in Ona Therapeutics through its third fund, YSIOS BIOFUND III, FCRE.

FUNDPLUS NV (Fund+)

Fund+ is a Belgian investment fund that invests in innovative life sciences companies, primarily in therapeutics, as well as in companies developing diagnostics and medical devices.

Fund+ aims to contribute sustainably to improving the biotech ecosystem. To date, it has raised €200 million in funding commitments. Its investors include high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and governmental bodies that share the founders’ long-term vision and social values.

The typical investment size per company ranges between €5 million and €15 million, distributed over different milestones.

Innvierte

Innvierte is an initiative aimed at promoting business innovation by supporting venture capital investment in technology-based or innovative companies.

This program operates through Innvierte Economía Sostenible SICC S.M.E., S.A., a self-managed closed-end collective investment company supervised by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and wholly owned by CDTI Innovación.

To date, CDTI Innovación has committed €2.661 billion across 61 investment vehicles that have invested in more than 622 companies, and through its co-investment line has directly committed €723 million in 190 companies.

Innvierte is part of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2021–2027, approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2020. This strategy defines the objectives, reforms, and measures to be adopted across the R&D&I ecosystem to foster growth and impact, forming one of the pillars of the Spanish Government’s innovation policy for the coming years.

CDTI Innovación

The Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI E.P.E.) is the innovation agency of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose mission is to promote technological innovation in the business sector.

CDTI’s objective is to ensure that Spanish companies generate and transform scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

In 2024, under a new strategic plan, CDTI provided over €2.3 billion in support to Spanish companies and startups.