Early Game led a EUR 500,000 pre-seed investment round raised by The Cat Health Company (TCHC), a biotech startup working in the field of veterinary longevity with laboratories in Bucharest. Angel investors also joined the round.

While TCHC considered a broad range of new therapies, the founders, driven by their love for cats, embarked on a mission to pursue the high-potential field of feline longevity research, the company explained. By addressing the root causes of aging, they aim "to prevent or delay a wide range of age-related illnesses, extending both the life and quality of life for our purring companions."

Furthermore, while the cat market has been relatively neglected compared to its canine counterpart, Romania's exceptional rate of cat ownership within EU households makes it a prime location for their operations, it said.

The startup was founded by Alex Voda (CEO) and Alex Bacita (COO), two scientists working in the longevity field. The CEO is an Oxford PhD in Molecular and Cellular Medicine and has published papers on new computational algorithms. The COO is a former Senior Scientist at Charles River Laboratories, a provider of services for drug discovery and clinical trials. The two founders met during their degree at The University of Manchester and have continuously collaborated for the past ten years.

The co-founders are supported by two team members with relevant skill sets. Dr. Ana Cruceanu is a veterinarian with deep knowledge of clinical studies into feline pathologies. Adelina Craiciu is a senior advisor on European and corporate law matters.

In the pharmaceutical industry, in silico research is emerging as a game-changer. Advances in computer-driven approaches allow for rapid exploration of vast drug candidate libraries and predict their interactions with target molecules. This translates into faster, more cost-effective drug development, paving the way for quicker advancements in healthcare, TCHC explains. However, commercial applications are just taking off. This surge is fueled by the exponential growth of biological data, the immense processing power of modern computers, and the development of powerful new algorithms.

Aiming to start the research for its most promising therapies, TCHC is embarking on a path that can change how new effective therapies are discovered and introduced to the market. Once the market validates its approach, the company will explore the possibility of developing new longevity therapies for human use.

"I'm thrilled to support TCHC. Their founders are not only brilliant Romanian scientists who deserve our full backing, with a promising entrepreneurial spirit. They've masterfully combined their scientific expertise with a keen commercial instinct to create a venture that has the potential to revolutionize both pet care and, why not, human health. This is a testament to Romania's growing talent pool, and I'm proud to be part of their journey," Florin Visa, Partner Early Game, said.

"We are incredibly grateful to Florin Visa, Cristian Munteanu, Dan Calugareanu, Bogdan Pasca and the team at Early Game Ventures supporting us. We have considered multiple options in our current round, but the experience and connections brought by EGV's partners are unmatched. We're also thankful to Elena Ovreiu, Adrian and Florin Grosu, Florin Cioaca as well as our many other resourceful angels for helping us in the mission to bring better drugs to the veterinary market. We need to go beyond just nine lives," Alex Voda and Alex Bacita said.

DLA Piper managed the transaction documents.

(Photo: J2 | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com