• Cocoon Bioscience

  Led · Equity · Nov 2023

  Cocoon Bioscience develops and manufactures specialized enzymes and high-performance growth factors for pharmaceutical, biological-sciences and alternative-protein industries. Its CrisBio® technology automates insect chrysalis systems, using live insects as natural bioreactors to produce enzymes for mRNA synthesis and genetic sequencing and growth factors for cultivated meat at lower cost than other protein-expression platforms. The company says its development significantly reduces production costs and enables industrialization of these biotechnologies. Cocoon offers bespoke, on-demand protein production services and aims to be a long-term partner as customers scale processes and products. Due to strong customer demand, the firm plans to build a new, more efficient manufacturing plant at Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia in Zamudio to scale CrisBio® to kilogram-per-year production. Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand production capacity, invest in product and process innovation, and strengthen the company. Cocoon Bioscience, born from the split of Algenex after its sale to Insud Pharma in 2022, develops biocomponents including specialized enzymes for mRNA synthesis and genome sequencing and high‑performance growth factors for the alternative‑protein industry. The company also supplies enzymes for the pharmaceutical market. Cocoon’s products target emerging global markets with significant potential. The €15M funding will be used to rapidly scale Cocoon’s platform to industrial levels. Cocoon plans a new production plant in Zamudio (Vizcaya), and when that facility is at full capacity in two to three years the company anticipates revenues of up to €80 million. The financing is intended to accelerate industrialization and commercialization of its enzyme and growth‑factor portfolio.

• Algenex

  Led · Equity · Mar 2019

  Algenex develops baculovirus vector-mediated expression platforms (CrisBio® and TopBac®) that use insects as natural single-use bioreactors to produce recombinant proteins and vaccines. Its CrisBio® platform is positioned as a scalable, cost-efficient alternative to traditional bioreactor-based expression technologies, with claimed benefits including linear scalability, reduced production costs and productivity reaching gram-per-litre yields. Historically the company has focused on veterinary vaccines, having produced more than 200 molecules with public and private partners, and its first veterinary vaccine dossier produced in CrisBio® is under EMA review. Algenex has expanded the application of its patented technologies into human health and is reinforcing a pipeline of human vaccines. The company plans to strengthen new GMP production facilities and advance the European approval of its first veterinary vaccine, anticipated in H1 2021. Algenex is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Algenex is a private Spanish biotechnology company developing baculovirus‑based recombinant protein production platforms, including CrisBio® and TopBac®. Its CrisBio® technology uses insect chrysalises (Trichoplusia ni) as natural bioractors to express proteins for vaccines, antibodies and other biotechnological products with rapid, linear and highly scalable manufacturing at low cost. The company is advancing a SARS‑CoV‑2 vaccine candidate and antibody diagnostic tests under a project funded by CDTI, and has demonstrated rapid candidate vaccine production and safety in animal models for a prior avian flu variant. Algenex relocated its headquarters in July to Tres Cantos and reports capacity in its new facilities to produce antigens for up to 100 million vaccine doses per year. The company also has an animal‑health vaccine made in CrisBio® that was under review by the European Medicines Agency for possible approval in the first half of 2021. The CDTI funding complements prior CDTI support and is intended to expand ongoing COVID‑19 product development efforts. Algenex is a Madrid-based private biotechnology company developing technologies for the production of protein-based recombinant biologics. Its core products are two baculovirus-based platforms: TopBac®, a plug-and-play patented system that increases productivity of existing baculovirus systems, and CrisBio®, a baculovirus-expression platform. Both platforms have demonstrated increased yield and quality of proteins and the ability to produce difficult-to-express proteins, increasing speed and versatility across a wide variety of protein families. The company intends to use proceeds from its recent financing to scale up CrisBio® ahead of an anticipated submission to the European Medicines Agency of a CrisBio®-based minor species vaccine and to support further commercial rollout of TopBac®. Algenex completed its executive team with Claudia Jiménez as General Manager and Virginia González as Chief Financial Officer and is led by COO Romy M. Dalton and founder/CSO José M. Escribano. The company closed an approx. €4M financing round to fund these plans.

No current team members are available.