Gate2Brain Raises $7.6M to Advance Brain Tumor Therapy

Jan de Vries · 2026-06-16

Gate2Brain, a Spanish BioTech company developing a therapeutic candidate for aggressive pediatric and adult brain tumors, has announced a $7.6 million investment — the largest funding round the company has secured to date. This investment represents a 30.4% equity stake and a strategic partnership with Shilpa Biocare Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shilpa Medicare Limited. "Gate2Brain acknowledges the continued support of its institutional partners, external advisors, investors, and business angels, whose confidence and commitment have played a key role in advancing the company's mission and technology platform," says Dr. Meritxell Teixidó, Gate2Brain CEO and CSO. ### A Growing European BioTech Funding Landscape Gate2Brain's investment sits within a broader 2026 European startup funding landscape where BioTech capital has continued flowing into oncology, central nervous system (CNS)-related delivery, RNA-based therapeutics, protein degradation, and clinical-trial infrastructure. While this round is smaller than later-stage or platform rounds — such as STORM Therapeutics' $51.6 million Series C or Aerska's $34.7 million Series A — it's broadly comparable with earlier-stage therapeutic platform financings like iDEL Therapeutics' $9.8 million Seed round and Kupando's $10.9 million additional Series A. The presence of Barcelona-based Biorce in adjacent Spanish HealthTech activity also points to domestic momentum around clinical development infrastructure. Still, Gate2Brain's focus remains more narrowly therapeutic, particularly on blood-brain barrier delivery for brain tumors and CNS diseases. ### The Science Behind the Startup Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from IRB Barcelona, the University of Barcelona, and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, Gate2Brain is advancing its proprietary technology platform to address high unmet medical needs in pediatric and adult brain tumors, as well as other CNS diseases. Gate2Brain has received support from leading public and private institutions, including: - Fundación Botín (Mind the Gap) - Banco Sabadell (BStartup Health) - CDTI Innovación - European Innovation Council (EIC Accelerator) - ACCIÓ Startup Capital - Fundación "la Caixa" ### A Closer Look at G2B-002 A key focus of the partnership is G2B-002, Gate2Brain's lead candidate. This therapy uses the company's proprietary MiniAp4 peptide shuttle to tackle one of the biggest challenges in CNS diseases: getting therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier. Preclinical studies have reportedly demonstrated improved brain delivery and reduced side effects in pediatric brain tumors. That's a big deal — the blood-brain barrier is notoriously difficult to penetrate, which is why so many promising drugs fail in development. By combining Gate2Brain's technology with Shilpa's expertise in manufacturing, CMC development, and regulatory strategy, the partnership aims to accelerate G2B-002's development while expanding the company's platform into additional therapeutic areas and CNS applications. ### What This Means for Patients This collaboration marks an important step in moving G2B-002 from preclinical development toward clinical application. It reinforces Gate2Brain's mission to address critical unmet medical needs in pediatric brain cancer and other CNS diseases, increasing the potential to deliver therapies to children and families facing devastating brain tumors. The funding also signals growing investor confidence in European BioTech startups tackling tough biological challenges — particularly those focused on delivery mechanisms that could make existing drugs more effective.