Paris-based biotech Cyllene Therapeutics, formerly known as EG 427, has just closed a 33 million euro Series C. The deal, announced on 7 July 2026, comes with a change of name that marks the company’s shift into a more advanced clinical stage.
Analysis by the experts at Auris Finance, advisors in mergers, acquisitions and financial engineering.
The round was co-led by two new investors: GordonMD Global Investments LP, a Beverly Hills-based investment firm specialised in breakthrough biopharma, and M Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA. Existing shareholders also took part in the deal, including Andera Partners, Bpifrance through its InnoBio 3 fund, and Lamond Ventures.
The round comes at a time when funding for genetic medicine remains selective, with investors favouring companies that already show tangible clinical signals. Cyllene Therapeutics specifically highlighted encouraging Phase 1b/2a data on its lead candidate, EG110A, to support this next financing step.
A pipeline refocused on neuro-urology
Founded under the name EG 427, the company has developed a gene therapy platform called HERMES, which delivers treatment directly to the nerves responsible for the underlying condition. Its most advanced candidate, EG110A, targets a severe bladder disorder that affects, in particular, patients with spinal cord injuries and causes frequent, uncontrollable urinary incontinence.
Early clinical results show a lasting drop in these incontinence episodes, with effects that persist for at least nine months after treatment. Building on these results, the company plans to launch a larger clinical trial in 2027, with a view to a future market launch, alongside a five-year patient follow-up to confirm that the benefits are sustained over time.
The name change from EG 427 to Cyllene Therapeutics refers to Mount Cyllene, the birthplace of Hermes in Greek mythology, in a direct echo of the HERMES platform. The rebrand reflects management’s stated ambition to grow the company into an international biotech, with a planned pipeline extension into other neurological indications such as overactive bladder, pain and migraine.
Strategic and financial investors combined
The structure of this financing round illustrates a trend observed in the precision biotech sector: combining specialised financial investors with a corporate venture arm attached to a large pharmaceutical group. M Ventures, whose total fund size was raised to 600 million euros in its latest expansion, gives Cyllene Therapeutics potential access to Merck KGaA’s regulatory and commercial expertise, beyond the capital contribution alone.
For Bpifrance and Andera Partners, existing shareholders, taking part in this Series C confirms their long-term support for a French company positioned in a differentiated technological segment: non-replicative viral vectors applied to chronic neurological diseases.
The proceeds will allow Cyllene Therapeutics to secure the financing of its pivotal clinical trials without depending on a further fundraising round in the short term, a key issue for clinical-stage biotechs facing long and expensive development cycles before any prospect of revenue.
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