We are excited to announce that the Neuroepilab group, led by Dr. Christian Griñán, has been selected to participate in the Bcn Activa Pre-acceleration Program with the project, Oxapi-27, a first-in-class epigenetic therapy designed to treat central nervous system disorders.
The team participating in this entrepreneurship program includes Principal Investigators Dr. Christian Griñán Ferré and Dr. Mercè Pallàs from the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona (UB). Both bring over a decade of experience in teaching and research focused on pharmacology and epigenetics in brain disorders. They are joined by Dr. Aina Bellver, a postdoctoral researcher in the Neuroepilab with five years of expertise in developing epigenetic therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, and Dr. Ariadna Boloix, an entrepreneur scientist and the group’s innovation project manager.
The team is exploring the opportunity to advance this project through the creation of a spin-off company, Flavii Therapeutics. Flavii Tx will focus on developing innovative, disease-modifying epigenetic therapies for neurodegenerative diseases (ND)—an area of urgent unmet medical need. With a rapidly aging population, the burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD) is steadily increasing. These conditions affect over 65 million people worldwide, and current treatments only provide temporary symptom relief without halting or reversing disease progression.
The most advanced project in Dr. Griñán’s lab, Oxapi-27, is a novel G9a inhibitor targeting epigenetic mechanisms. Unlike existing G9a inhibitors that show poor brain penetration and high toxicity, Oxapi-27 demonstrates excellent pharmacokinetic properties and a strong safety profile in preclinical models. Proof-of-concept studies have shown cognitive improvement and neuroprotective effects in AD and HD mouse models, and ongoing validation is underway for PD.
Participation in the Bcn Activa Pre-acceleration Program will accelerate our plans to launch Flavii Therapeutics, with the goal of advancing Oxapi-27 into regulatory preclinical studies and, ultimately, into clinical trials. Our business model emphasizes early-stage development and strategic licensing, enabling partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to bring our therapy to market.
Oxapi-27 is protected by a European patent application (EP23382641.1) filed in June 2023, followed by a PCT extension in June 2024 (WO/2024/261340).
This project has reached its current stage thanks to the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Barcelona, including the groups led by Dr. Christian Griñán, Dr. Mercè Pallàs, Dr. Carmen Escolano, and Dr. Santiago Vázquez. We are also grateful for the support of Inma Íñiguez, Head of the Patents, Valorization, and Licensing Area at the Fundació Bosch i Gimpera.
By joining the Bcn Activa Pre-acceleration Program, our team will gain access to expert mentorship, strategic support, and a dynamic innovation ecosystem, positioning Oxapi-27 as a leading candidate in the next generation of epigenetic therapies for brain disorders.
