Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s IBD Ventures Awards Investment to Continue their Support for the Development of Medibiofarma’s Novel First-In-Class PPARg Partial Agonist Oral Therapy (MBF-118) for Treatment of Crohn’s Disease
Pamplona, Spain / August 25, 2025 / Medibiofarma, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for gastrointestinal diseases and other indications, announced receipt of a second investment award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s IBD Ventures program. The investment strengthens the Foundation’s ongoing support for the development of MBF-118, a first-in-class, oral therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), following a similar investment in 2023.
MBF-118 is a patented new chemical entity that acts as a partial agonist of PPARγ and has both anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory properties. The therapy addresses a common complication of IBD: intestinal fibrosis, where an excessive accumulation of scar tissue in the intestinal wall leads to stricture formation and severe obstructions.
MBF-118 has completed a first proof-of-concept Phase IIa clinical trial in Crohn’s disease patients with confirmed strictures. The compound was very well tolerated throughout the study, and the treatment period was extended from 1 to 3-months at the request of the first patients. Furthermore, several qualitative improvements in stricture characteristics were observed in some patients, although the study lacked any formal statistical analysis.
The funding from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will be used to complete the final regulatory preclinical studies on MBF-118, in preparation for the submission of a full phase II clinical trial.
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation launched IBD Ventures to accelerate the discovery and development of research-based products with the potential to address an unmet need of IBD patients. As a venture philanthropy program, IBD Ventures aims to maximize product-oriented research and can uniquely drive greater investments into novel early-stage products. The program funds, advises, and provides resources to companies, academic institutions, and other organizations seeking to develop products that can improve quality of life for patients with IBD. Since 2017, IBD Ventures has awarded over $19 million to portfolio companies in pursuit of proposed projects. For more information, visit us online.
“Identifying and targeting mechanisms of fibrosis development have been critical research priorities for the Foundation. Fibrosis formation and related intestinal obstructions remain leading causes for surgery within the IBD patient population, particularly patients with Crohn’s disease. The second investment in Medibiofarma demonstrates our commitment to this unmet clinical need and our acknowledgement of their progress with MBF-118” said Russell Wyborski, Ph.D., Senior Director of IBD Venture Investments at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
“We’ve seen the very first signs of improvement of fibrosis in Crohn’s patients in a very scaled-back clinical trial. Obviously, we want to see what MBF-118 is really capable of.” said Richard Roberts, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Medibiofarma. “We have an ambitious program to take MBF-118 to a full, placebo-controlled phase II trial in Crohn’s patients. This award from IBD Ventures will allow us to complete the necessary groundwork for that trial.”
“We are very grateful for the continued support of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and their ongoing confidence in our team, especially in the face of tough competition for this year’s award.” said Rodolfo Rodríguez, CEO, Medibiofarma. “Together we will take MBF-118 to the next development milestone, and another step closer to the promise of a new therapeutic approach for fibrosis in Crohn’s patients.”
About Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, affects millions of people in the United States, with as many as 70,000 new cases diagnosed each year. While the causes of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are not entirely understood, both are associated with chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, with symptoms that include abdominal pain, increased stool frequency, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, and fatigue. Currently available medications alleviate inflammation and reduce symptoms, in some cases may prevent complications, but do not provide a cure, and some have severe adverse effects, including increased risk of infection and malignancy. Thus, there continues to be a high unmet medical need for additional oral agents that are safe and effective for the induction and maintenance of remission of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
About the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation is the leading non-profit organization focused on both research and patient support for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the mission of curing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and of improving the quality of life of the millions of Americans living with IBD. The Foundation’s work is dramatically accelerating the research process through investment in research initiatives, while also providing extensive educational and support resources for patients and their families, medical professionals, and the public. For more information, visit crohnscolitisfoundation.org, call 888-694-8872, or email info@crohnscolitisfoundation.org.
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