metaLead Therapeutics Secures CHF 1 Million Investment

Basel, Switzerland – May 5, 2025 – metaLead Therapeutics AG (metaLead), a pioneering biotech company developing next-generation metal-binding therapies, has secured CHF 1 million in funding from the UZH Life Sciences Fund (LSF). This investment will drive the company’s development of a novel treatment for Wilson disease.

Wilson disease is a rare genetic disorder that leads to the toxic accumulation of copper in the body, causing severe neurological and hepatic damage. Current treatments are limited, leaving many patients with significant unmet medical needs. metaLead’s proprietary peptide-based therapeutic platform aims to offer a more effective and welltolerated alternative to existing chelation therapies.

“This investment marks a significant milestone for metaLead, allowing us to accelerate our preclinical development toward IND-enabling studies,” said Michal Shoshan, metaLead’s founder and CEO. “We are committed to addressing the urgent need for better treatments for Wilson disease, particularly for patients suffering from neurological manifestations.”

“We are thrilled to support metaLead,” said Michio Painter, Investment Manager for the LSF. “Michal Shoshan and team have demonstrated a unique ability to discover and fine-tune peptides for the treatment of metal-related diseases. Over the last several years, they have built a compelling case that these peptides have best-in-class potential for a wide variety of indications, starting with Wilson disease, where patients desperately need better treatments. We look forward to following their progress to the clinic closely.”

About metaLead Therapeutics AG
metaLead is a Swiss biotech company spun out of the University of Zurich. It is dedicated to developing novel peptide-based therapies for metal-related diseases and metal poisoning. The company is leveraging its deep expertise in metal-binding peptides to develop first-in-class therapeutics targeting pathological metals.
metaLead’s lead program focuses on Wilson disease, a disorder caused by copper overload, with the goal of offering a safer and more effective treatment option for
patients worldwide. metaLead has received previous support from the BioInnovation Institute (BII), BaseLaunch, KickFund, Venture Kick, Innosuisse, and the University of Zurich. For more information, visit www.metalead.ch.

About the UZH Life Sciences Fund (LSF)
The LSF, founded in 2016, provides early financing for UZH spin-offs in the life sciences, biotech, and medtech sectors with business ideas based on intellectual property resulting from research conducted at UZH. The aim is to accelerate the development process of spin-offs in the early phase of their life cycle, thereby enhancing the transfer of UZH research findings into practice, ultimately benefiting patients and the broader public. The LSF involves two equal partners: the UZH (raising funds through its UZH Foundation) and the Novartis Venture Fund.