- Elkedonia, the first company from Argobio’s portfolio to reach a financing milestone, closes a €11.25 million seed round
- Seed round backed by a leading European syndicate, including Kurma Partners, WE Life Sciences, Bpifrance, Angelini Ventures, Carma Fund, Capital Grand Est and Sambrinvest with participation of Argobio
- Proceeds to support the development of first-in-class, fast-acting neuroplastogens targeting treatment-resistant depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders
Paris, France, June 11th, 2025. Argobio, a European biotech start-up studio committed to turning cutting-edge innovations into breakthrough therapeutic companies, marks a key milestone as Elkedonia, the first start-up from its portfolio to reach a financing milestone, has closed a €11.25 million seed round.
The round was co-led by Kurma Partners, WE Life Sciences and the French Tech Seed fund managed on behalf of the French government by Bpifrance as part of France 2030, with participation from Argobio, Angelini Ventures, Carma Fund, Capital Grand Est and Sambrinvest. This strong European investor syndicate reflects both the confidence of Argobio’s founding investors in its model, and the Elkedonia’s ability to attract leading European life sciences syndicate at the seed stage.
Founded and incubated by Argobio, Elkedonia is a biotech company developing first-in-class, non-hallucinogenic and non-addictive neuroplastogens to address treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and other neuropsychiatric disorders without the side effects of psychedelics or ketamine derivatives. The company builds on the research of Dr. Jocelyne Caboche (CNRS, Sorbonne University) into Elk1, a novel intracellular target involved in neuroplasticity and reward mechanisms.
““Elkedonia serves as a first proof of concept for Argobio where we are extremely proud to have identified this opportunity to benefit human health and to have provided industry competencies to accelerate and de-risk product development.” said Thierry Laugel, Chairman of the Management Board of Argobio and Managing Partner at Kurma Partners. “Furthermore, this seed investment co-led by our team at Kurma Partners is both an exciting opportunity for Kurma Biofund IV and builds on our overarching strategy of supporting creation of globally competitive companies across Europe.”
The creation and development of Elkedonia illustrates Argobio’s core mission: to identify promising therapeutic concepts at a very early stage, secure strategic and scientific foundations, and build high-potential companies alongside leading investors and entrepreneurs.
“I am thrilled to welcome our founding seed investors and thank my colleagues at Argobio for their support in creating Elkedonia,” said Delphine Charvin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Elkedonia, previously Operating Partner at Argobio. “The novelty of our neuroplastogen approach offers a compelling value proposition, rooted in groundbreaking neuroscience research. We are positioned to make a real difference in the treatment of major depressive disorders — including in vulnerable populations such as adolescents and the elderly. In addition, our work on biomarker development will enable us to pursue a precision medicine strategy, improving both patient selection and therapeutic monitoring.”
Argobio continues to advance its portfolio of academic-born projects in rare diseases, neuroscience, immunology, and oncology, with the ambition to replicate and scale its tech transfer-driven model of biotech creation — powered by academic excellence, entrepreneurial drive, and strong investor partnerships.
