Tag: Financing round

Company News: Aleva Neurotherapeutics Closes EUR 9.5 Million Series A Financing Round

– Novel Products for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to Be Advanced Into the Clinic –

Aleva Neurotherapeutics, a company developing next-generation implants for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in major neurological indications such as Parkinson´s disease or depression, today announced the closing of a Series A financing round totaling EUR 9.5 million. Aleva was founded in 2008 as a spin-off from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Microsystems Laboratory.

The round was funded by a group of seasoned industry specialists and co-led by BioMedInvest AG (managed by BioMedPartners AG, Basel, Switzerland) and BB BIOTECH VENTURES III, L.P. (advised by Bellevue Asset Management AG, Kuesnacht, Switzerland). Initiative Capital Romandie (Lausanne, Switzerland) and renowned private investors also participated in the financing.

The proceeds will be used to support the development of Aleva’s pioneering product pipeline for neurostimulation, which is based on the company’s proprietary microDBS™ technology. microDBS™ is a next-generation technology addressing Deep Brain Stimulation therapy, currently a US$ 450 million market with strong double-digit growth rates.

Aleva’s microDBS™ technology for target-specific stimulation has been developed to significantly reduce the side effects and potential complications as well as the costs of DBS therapy. Moreover, its features allow for expanding the existing DBS market to new indications which cannot be addressed by currently available technologies.

The company is developing three products based on its microDBS™ technology: directSTIM™, an intelligent electrode compatible with existing DBS platforms; spiderSTIM™, a full solution for both intra-surgical and long-term therapeutic use; and the cortiSTIM™ device for cortical stimulation. All products will be compatible with marketed pulse generators. Clinical trials of the lead product, directSTIM™, are scheduled to start later this year.

Company News: Anergis Closes CHF 18 Million Series A Financing Round to Develop its Innovative Allergy Vaccines and Expands its Board of Directors

Anergis SA announced today that it has closed a Series A financing round raising CHF 18 millions from European biotech funds and private local investors. Anergis SA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immunotherapies against allergies. Its lead product, called “AllerT” and made of so-called Contiguous Overlapping Peptides (COPs), is designed to provide ultra-fast and safe desensitization to birch pollen allergy, a widely spread condition in developed countries.

The financing round was co-led by three major European funds with extensive biotech experience: Vinci Capital-Renaissance PME (Lausanne, Switzerland), BioMedInvest (managed by BioMedPartners AG, Basel, Switzerland) and Sunstone Capital (Copenhagen, Denmark). The syndicate was also joined by Esperante (Limhamn, Sweden), Initiative Capital Romandie (Lausanne, Switzerland) and by private investors. Up until now, Anergis has invested CHF 3 million in its innovative allergy vaccines. These funds were raised from private investors and from a grant by the Swiss Innovation Fund (CTI).

The newly joining investors also bring substantial pharmaceutical experience and know-how to Anergis: Patrick Scherrer (representing Vinci Capital-Renaissance PME), Markus Hosang (representing BioMedInvest) and Sten Verland (representing Sunstone Capital) have joined the Anergis Board of Directors. The Board will be chaired by André J. Mueller, a professional with unique executive and non-executive experience in biotech ventures, which he gained with Biogen and Actelion and as the Chairman of the Boards of Cerenis Therapeutics (Toulouse) and Addex Pharmaceuticals (Geneva).

Company News: Okairos Raises €16 Million in Series B Financing

Swiss-Italian vaccine play Okairos today announced the closing of a €16 million series B financing round. The proceeds will be used to further advance Okairos’ product portfolio. The vaccines developed by Okairos are based on new, potent adenovirus vectors that can engage the cellular arms of the immune system to elicit a strong immune response involving T cells. The company is addressing major infectious diseases, e.g. malaria, HIV, hepatitis C and universal influenza. The financing was led by Versant Ventures and joined by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. All existing investors – BioMedPartners, LSP and Novartis Venture Funds – also participated in the round. For further information, please visit the company’s website.

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