Participated · Series B · Jul 2021

Topas Therapeutics (Evotec spin-off) develops immune tolerance-inducing drugs using its Topas Particle Conjugates platform to harness the liver's tolerization capabilities. The company is focused on autoimmune indications including pemphigus vulgaris, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Type I diabetes. Lead program TPM203 is in clinical development for pemphigus vulgaris with initial clinical data expected this year, and TPM502 is planned to enter the clinic by year-end for celiac disease. Topas is also advancing several preclinical programs in parallel. The recent financing extension will be used to obtain clinical proof of concept in two programs and to accelerate the proprietary pipeline. The company is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and was spun out from Evotec in 2016. Topas Therapeutics develops nanoparticle-based therapeutics that harness the liver's natural immune-tolerance mechanisms via its Topas Particle Conjugates technology platform. The company targets autoimmune diseases, allergies and anti-drug antibody responses, and has several proprietary programs. Its lead candidate, TPM203, is in clinical development for the orphan autoimmune disease pemphigus vulgaris, and a second program, TPM501, is being advanced toward the clinic for celiac disease. Other programs focus on anti-drug immune responses (e.g., in gene therapy) and are available for partnering. Topas completed a €22 million (~$26 million) Series B to advance its pipeline and platform. As part of the financing, new investors joined the Supervisory Board and Erich F. Greiner, M.D., became Chairman. Topas Therapeutics develops nanoparticle technology to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance in the liver to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company’s proprietary tolerance induction platform was exclusively licensed from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, where it was invented by Johannes Herkel, Jörg Heeren and colleagues. Led by CEO Timm Jessen, Topas intends to use funds to accelerate the platform and advance product development to proof-of-concept in multiple autoimmune and inflammatory indications, including multiple sclerosis. The company anticipates advancing its initial multiple sclerosis program into clinical development in 2017. Topas is based in Hamburg, Germany. In March 2016 it completed a €14m Series A financing to support these plans.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2018

Crescendo Biologics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company based in Cambridge, UK, that develops Humabody® VH-based multi‑functional therapeutics. Its lead proprietary programme, CB307, is a half-life extended CD137 x PSMA bispecific designed to activate tumour-specific T cells within the tumour microenvironment while avoiding systemic toxicity. The company uses a patented transgenic mouse platform to generate fully human VH domain building blocks (Humabody VH) that can be configured for novel pharmacology and improved biodistribution. CB307 is in an adaptive Phase 1b clinical trial with a monotherapy expansion cohort underway in PSMA+ metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and a planned pembrolizumab combination expansion cohort expected to start in Q3 2023. Beyond CB307, Crescendo has global discovery and development collaborations with Takeda and BioNTech and an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Zai Lab for ZL-1102, which is expected to enter global Phase 2 for psoriasis. The company recently secured additional financing to enable acceleration of its clinical programme. Crescendo Biologics develops potent, multi-functional Humabody® therapeutics for oncology, with a particular focus on novel targeted T‑cell engagers. Its lead programme, CB307, is designed to stimulate local activation of tumour-specific T‑cells and the company plans to advance CB307 into the clinic. The newly raised funds will also be used to expand Crescendo’s internal pipeline of Humabody-based products and pursue strategic partnerships. Crescendo has a collaboration with Takeda Pharma worth up to $790 million. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, England. The $70 million Series B will fund clinical entry and further platform development. Crescendo Biologics is a Cambridge, UK–based company focused on the discovery and development of human VH antibody fragment therapeutics. The company leverages its VH platform to develop topical biologics for psoriasis and multivalent products for oncology indications. Led by CEO Mike Romanos, Crescendo aims to advance multiple in-house development programmes. The firm raised additional capital in a Series A financing to support those programmes. The Series A was completed with a final close that increased the round size. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article. Crescendo Biologics is a Cambridge, UK-based company focused on the discovery and development of human VH antibody fragment therapeutics. Led by CEO Mike Romanos, the company uses a VH fragment discovery platform to advance in-house development programmes in inflammation and oncology. It is establishing an internal pipeline that includes a topical biologic for psoriasis and multivalent products for oncology indications. In December 2013 Crescendo raised £17.5m ($28m) in a Series A financing to support these efforts. The company intends to use the funds to advance its inflammation and oncology programmes to the clinic. In conjunction with the funding, Rob Woodman of Imperial Innovations joined Crescendo’s board. Crescendo Biologics is a Cambridge, UK–based developer of antibody fragment technologies and a transgenic mouse platform. The platform is designed to rapidly generate high‑affinity human heavy chain antibodies that readily yield VH fragments with no requirement for humanisation. The company aims to apply this technology to create next‑generation targeted biological therapeutics based on fragment antibodies. It has appointed Dr Mike Romanos as CSO; he has extensive experience in biopharmaceutical R&D. Crescendo raised £4.5m in a seed funding round led by Sofinnova Partners, with Aitua, Avlar BioVentures and the Rainbow Seed Fund participating. The proceeds will be used to advance development of the platforms and to initiate the development of proprietary therapeutics.

Participated · Series D · Apr 2017

Arsanis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted monoclonal antibodies for pre-emptive and post-infection treatment of serious bacterial and viral diseases. Its lead program, ASN100—a combination of two human mAbs, ASN-1 and ASN-2—broadly neutralizes six Staphylococcus aureus cytotoxins and has received FDA Fast Track designation. A global Phase 2 study of a single dose of ASN100 versus placebo for prevention of S. aureus pneumonia in high-risk mechanically ventilated patients is underway, with data anticipated in 2018. The company plans to complete the ASN100 Phase 2 study and to advance preclinical gram-negative programs and its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) program toward the clinic. Arsanis is also conducting discovery research in neonatal S. aureus sepsis with the potential for future funding to advance a neonatal sepsis candidate. The company is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with European research and preclinical development operations in Vienna, Austria. Arsanis is developing human monoclonal antibodies targeting severe infectious diseases, with a lead program ASN-100 — a monoclonal antibody cocktail for hospital-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections — currently in manufacture for clinical trials. The company’s pipeline includes preclinical programs against multi-drug resistant gram-negative pathogens Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, plus a program targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae. Arsanis combines in-house infectious disease expertise with antibody discovery and optimization through a partnership with Adimab LLC. Founded in 2010, the company plans to use recent funding to advance ASN-100 into clinical development while maturing its broader anti-infective antibody portfolio. Financially, Arsanis closed a $20 million Series B and has secured over $7 million in non-dilutive grant funding, with potential for an additional $20 million of grant support over the next three years. Leadership includes co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Eszter Nagy and co-founder/chair Tillman Gerngross; Dr. Claudio Nessi of NeoMed will join the board as part of the recent financing. Arsanis focuses on development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics targeting severe infectious diseases, including antibiotic-resistant pathogens and infections in immune-compromised patients. The company uses first-in-class monoclonal antibody discovery technologies to select highly potent antibodies with unique qualities. Its pipeline is at pre-clinical stage, with plans to advance the most successful programs into clinical proof-of-relevance studies. Proceeds from its recent financing will support several pre-clinical proof-of-concept programs across anti-microbial infectious disease targets. The company was founded in fall 2010 by Dr. Eszter Nagy, Dr. Tillman Gerngross and Errik Anderson, and will initiate operations in Vienna, Austria. Management emphasizes building a broad portfolio of infectious disease targets and advancing programs based on pre-clinical success.

Led · Series A · Jan 2017

Luxendo develops and internationally markets Single Plane Illumination Microscopes (SPIM) for biomedical research. The company raised additional funding as an extension to its Series A, bringing the round to €8m. The extension was led by Life Science Partners (LSP) and included EMBL Ventures and EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer. Luxendo intends to use the funds to expand its international sales and marketing team. Founded in October 2015 as a spin‑out of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the company is based in Heidelberg, Germany and is led by CEO Andreas Pfuhl. Its products include the MuVi‑SPIM for fast 3D imaging of living objects and whole specimens without sample rotation, and the InVi‑SPIM, designed for extremely gentle handling and fast 3D imaging of cell cultures and developing embryonic samples. Luxendo was launched by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and EMBLEM Technology Transfer in Heidelberg, Germany. The company will manufacture and sell advanced Single Plane Illumination Microscopes (SPIM) originally developed at EMBL by Lars Hufnagel and his team. SPIM combines optical sectioning with multiple-view imaging to observe tissues and living organisms with high resolution. Compared to conventional microscopy, the SPIM technology allows for significantly reduced sampling times (factor 1000x), higher resolution and markedly reduced damaging side effects on living specimens. Luxendo closed a €6M Series A financing to support its commercial activities.

Participated · Series B · Jun 2016

Allecra Therapeutics, led by CEO Nicholas Benedict, is a biopharmaceutical company based in Lörrach, Germany and Saint‑Louis, France focused on treatments for multi drug‑resistant Gram‑negative bacterial infections. Its lead program, AAI202, is a combination of a β‑lactam antibiotic and a proprietary extended‑spectrum β‑lactamase inhibitor intended as broad‑spectrum antibacterial therapy for hospitalized patients with Gram‑negative infections. The company is advancing AAI202 toward clinical development to address infections proven or suspected to express certain resistance mechanisms, particularly ESBLs. Allecra closed a Series B financing to fund the next stage of development. The company intends to use the proceeds for Phase 2 development of AAI202. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article. Allecra Therapeutics is an antibiotics startup formed this year to develop a pair of antibiotics against multi‑drug‑resistant gram‑negative bacteria. The company raised a €15 million Series A to fund clinical development of those programs. Allecra was created through a partnership led by CEO Nicholas Benedict and India's Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals. Lead backers include Forbion Capital Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, and EMBL Ventures has also invested. The company operates in Lorrach, Germany and Saint Louis, France. Founders and investors cite retreating big‑pharma R&D as creating an urgent need for new antibiotic options and position Allecra to address that gap.