Aelis Farma Awarded a €458k Grant Under France 2030 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine to Support Development of Its Program in Obesity and Associated Metabolic Diseases

This non-dilutive funding, granted under the Projets d’Avenir Innovation (PAI) scheme, strengthens Aelis Farma’s “metabolism” program and validates its innovation potential in a therapeutic area of major strategic importance.

BORDEAUX, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Aelis Farma (ISIN: FR0014007ZB4 – Ticker: AELIS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of treatments for brain and peripheral disorders involving the CB₁ receptor, today announced that it has been selected under the regional component of France 2030 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and has been awarded a grant of €458,000. This non-dilutive funding will help accelerate the Company’s research and development activities in the field of obesity and associated metabolic diseases.

This non-dilutive public support, granted under the “Projet d’Avenir Innovation” call for projects, recognizes the scientific quality of the project led by Aelis Farma, its innovative nature, and its value creation potential in a rapidly expanding therapeutic field. The program was selected as part of the regional call for projects operated on behalf of the French State and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, with the support of Bpifrance.

The funds awarded will be used to finance research and development work focused on the identification and characterization of new drug candidates derived from the Company’s proprietary platform of specific signaling inhibitors of the CB₁ receptor (CB₁-SSi). This work is intended to advance the preclinical development of new molecules for the treatment of obesity-related metabolic disorders, as well as other peripheral diseases associated with dysregulation of the CB₁ receptor.

Pier Vincenzo Piazza, CEO of Aelis Farma, stated: “The award of this grant under France 2030 marks an important milestone for Aelis Farma. This non-dilutive funding validates the scientific quality of our program, recognizes the innovative power of our approach, and supports the progress of our work in obesity and associated metabolic diseases, a major therapeutic area driven by considerable medical needs. We warmly thank the French State, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and Bpifrance for their confidence. As a company rooted in Bordeaux, we are particularly proud to see our innovation recognized and supported at both the regional and national levels.”

For Aelis Farma, this support strengthens both the external credibility of its “metabolism” program and its ability to secure competitive funding to support its development. It is fully aligned with the Company’s strategy to bring forward a new generation of treatments based on its proprietary CB₁-SSi platform, with applications in both brain disorders and certain peripheral diseases.

The regional component of France 2030 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, presented by the Regional Prefecture, represents €23 million over the 2025–2026 period, under a mechanism whereby each euro invested by the French State is matched by one euro invested by the Region. Aelis Farma is among the 8 new winners announced in this selection wave.

Aelis Farma expresses its deep gratitude and wishes to acknowledge the key role played by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, the Regional Prefecture and Bpifrance in supporting innovative high-potential projects capable of fostering the emergence of future French technology and biopharmaceutical leaders. This support reinforces the Company’s trajectory toward its value creation objectives and the development of breakthrough therapeutic innovations.

About AELIS FARMA

Founded in Bordeaux in 2013, Aelis Farma is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing a new class of drugs, the Signaling Specific inhibitors of the CB₁ receptor of the endocannabinoid system (CB₁-SSi). CB₁-SSi have been developed by Aelis Farma based on the discovery of a natural regulatory mechanism of CB₁ hyperactivity made by the team led by Dr Pier Vincenzo Piazza, the Company’s CEO, when he was the director of the Neurocentre Magendie of INSERM in Bordeaux. By mimicking this natural mechanism, CB₁-SSi appear to selectively inhibit the disease-related activity of the CB₁ receptor without disrupting its normal physiological activity. CB₁-SSi have consequently the potential to provide new safe treatments for several brain and peripheral organ diseases.

Aelis Farma currently has two first-in-class clinical-stage drug candidates. AEF0117 for the treatment of cannabis use disorders (CUD), that has shown to be able to decrease cannabis use across two studies. AEF0217 for cognitive disorders, which has shown in a Phase 1/2 to be safe and able to improve adaptive behavior in young adults with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) and has started a Phase 2b in Europe aiming to confirm its efficacy and safety in people with Down syndrome. The clinical results obtained with these 2 compounds have confirmed the safety and therapeutic activity of CB₁-SSi in humans. The Company also develops a portfolio of new innovative CB₁-SSi for the treatment of other disorders associated with a dysregulation of the activity of the CB₁ receptor, including diseases involving peripheral organs, such as obesity and related metabolic conditions. The new drugs developed by the Company belong to the same general pharmacological class, the CB₁-SSi, but have distinct functional effects allowing to target different types of dysregulations of the CB₁ receptor and guaranteeing that the different compounds are not substitutable one with the others.

For more information, visit www.aelisfarma.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

ISIN: FR0014007ZB4
Ticker: AELIS
C Compartment of Euronext Paris

Disclaimer

Forward-looking statements

Some information contained in this press release is forward-looking statements, not historical data. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions about Aelis Farma's current and future strategy and the environment in which Aelis Farma operates. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results or other events, to differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those set out and described in detail in Chapter 3 "Risk Factors" of Aelis Farma's Universal Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers on April 28, 2025, under number D.25-0314.

These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and Aelis Farma expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or corrections to the forward-looking statements included in this press release to reflect any change in expectations or events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such forward-looking statement is based. Forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond Aelis Farma's control. Actual results could differ materially from those described in, or implied or projected by, forward-looking information and statements.