Led · Series B · Oct 2024

Medtrace Pharma A/S operates a platform for the production, infusion and analysis of 15O-water used in medical imaging. The technology is applied to myocardial perfusion imaging and other indications that require perfusion data, including heart scans. The company raised $30 million in a Series B to scale its platform and operations. Lead investors in the round are Swisscanto Invest, ATP and the Bankinvest group. CEO and co‑founder Martin Stenfeldt said the funding will enable ramping European and U.S. expansion plans in myocardial perfusion imaging and other perfusion applications. The capital is intended to support production, infusion and analytical capabilities needed to deploy 15O-water imaging more broadly across clinical settings.

Participated · Series C · May 2024

Memo Therapeutics is a late-stage biotech company based in Schlieren, Zurich, developing therapeutic antibodies for viral infections and cancer. Its lead program, AntiBKV, is a neutralizing antibody aimed at treating BK virus infection in kidney transplant recipients. The company holds FDA fast track status for AntiBKV and intends to use new funds to accelerate clinical development. Memo plans to expand its Phase II trial with a dose-evaluation extension supported by the financing. Its pipeline includes additional antibody candidates targeting infectious diseases such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and immuno-oncology programs, including a partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical. The company is led by CEO Erik van den Berg. Memo Therapeutics AG (MTx) is a late-stage biotech based in Schlieren/Zurich, Switzerland, focused on developing best-in-class therapeutic antibodies for viral infections and cancer. Its lead program, AntiBKV, is a highly effective neutralizing antibody designed to treat BK polyomavirus infection in kidney transplant recipients, a condition that can lead to graft dysfunction and organ rejection. MTx plans to complete a multi-center U.S. Phase II study of AntiBKV and is preparing to scale up CMC manufacturing for a Phase III study and potential market entry. The company expects Phase II clinical data in 2024 and is preparing for a potential launch in 2025. Proceeds from its recent financing will also be used to advance additional pipeline candidates targeting infectious diseases such as CMV and immuno-oncology targets, and to support a partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical. Memo Therapeutics develops antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis technologies that capture whole B-cell repertoires from any donor species and screen them in single-cell format to identify functional monoclonal antibodies. Its platform uses microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening to assess millions of candidate antibodies and generate recombinant clonal cell lines expressing desired mAbs. The company’s pipeline focuses on infectious diseases and immuno‑oncology, with lead programs MTX-005 (a neutralizing antibody targeting BK virus) and COVAB 36 (an inhaled monoclonal antibody for SARS-CoV-2). Memo plans to use the new funding to advance MTX-005 into Phase 2 clinical development, expand its antibody pipeline, and secure new partnering agreements. The company also lists programs in cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Nipah virus, and says the recent funding together with a Swiss Federal COVID-19 grant will enable advancement of MTX-005 and COVAB 36 into clinical development this year. Memo Therapeutics is a private company based in Bio‑Technopark Zurich, Switzerland. Memo Therapeutics uses a droplet microfluidics-based single-cell platform (Dropzylla®) to capture and preserve entire B-cell repertoires and screen millions of candidate antibodies in functional assays. The platform generates recombinant clonal cell lines expressing monoclonal antibodies and is applied across species and indications for proprietary and partnered projects. The company’s pipeline includes programs in infectious diseases and immuno-oncology; its lead COVID-19 program is COVAB 36, a potent, fully-human monoclonal antibody that can be administered via inhalation. Memo received CHF 10.5 million from the Swiss Federal Funding Programme for COVID-19 Medicines to clinically develop COVAB 36, with the programme implemented by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and supported by Innosuisse. Memo completed preclinical development and plans to start phase 1 clinical studies with COVAB 36 in Q1 2022, and the project includes rapid development of a combination antibody partner for emerging variants via an ultra-fast update process. The company is a private firm located in Bio‑Technopark Zurich and was ranked in the TOP 100 Swiss Startups list from 2015 to 2017. Memo Therapeutics AG develops antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis technologies built on microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening. Its platform captures and preserves entire B-cell repertoires and screens them in single-cell format, assessing millions of candidate antibodies directly in functional assays to produce recombinant clonal cell lines expressing monoclonal antibodies with desired functions. The company’s pipeline includes infectious disease and immuno-oncology programs, with lead assets MTX-COVAB for COVID-19 and MTX-005 for BK virus in renal transplant patients. Memo says MTX-COVAB is a fully human, highly potent antibody that neutralizes all major known mutants and that it has agreed a fast-track development plan with regulators, planning to begin clinical studies in 2021. The CHF 14 million Series B financing will primarily fund advancement of MTX-COVAB through Phase II and GMP production, Phase II development of MTX-005, and expansion of additional anti-infectious candidates and partnering activities. The company is located in Bio-Technopark Zurich, Schlieren, Switzerland.

Participated · Equity · May 2024

NIL Technology designs, develops, and manufactures optical elements and components—including metalenses and other meta-optics—using high-precision nanoscale features and vertically integrated production. Its flat camera lenses and optical components target next-generation sensing, imaging, and 3D sensing applications for smartphones, consumer products, AR/MR, robotics, and automotive markets. The company says its solutions improve performance, efficiency, compactness, and material consumption and has consistently reported high transmission efficiencies for metalenses. NIL Technology was founded in Denmark by Theodor Nielsen and Brian Bilenberg and recently published research in Nature Communications Physics demonstrating that experimental performance is closing the gap with theoretical promises. It has raised €29 million in new capital to scale manufacturing capabilities and meet higher-volume customer requests. Management emphasizes ramping mass production through proprietary technologies and a long-term commitment to advanced nanostructures to serve growing customer demand. NIL Technology is an optical solutions company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, led by founder and CEO Theodor Nielsen. It designs, develops and manufactures optical elements and components using high-precision nanoscale features, employing diffractive optical elements and metalenses. Its product portfolio includes diffusers, fan-outs, collimators, focusing lenses and technology for making planar waveguides. Target applications include 3D sensing, consumer electronics, machine vision, autonomous vehicles and VR/AR displays. The company raised €26m (USD $31m) to accelerate mass production capabilities and expand product development efforts. NILT intends to use the funds to strengthen development of its metalens technology to simplify optics, reduce size and improve quality across optical component use cases. Founded in 2006 by Theodor Nielsen, NIL Technology specializes in nanopatterning and nanoimprint lithography for industrial customers. The company develops nano- and micro-optical systems and nanopatterning solutions for sensor and optical applications. It has served more than 300 different customers globally. NIL’s technologies have applications across mobile devices, IoT, AR/VR, displays and automotive. The company is based in Copenhagen, Denmark and Gothenburg, Sweden. It plans to use new capital to expand R&D, production capacity and its sales presence.

Led · Series A · Sep 2023

Nagi Bioscience develops next-generation laboratory equipment intended to unlock the potential of alternatives to animal testing and to disrupt drug discovery and toxicology testing. Its first commercial product, SydLab One, launched at the end of Q1 2023 and has gained traction in biopharma and agrochemical R&D. The company emphasizes close customer collaboration and co-creation to validate product-market fit and guide future development. Nagi plans to use new funding to scale its commercial organization and operations while expanding R&D to strengthen its portfolio of products. Management says the company aims to open new markets and form partnerships across industries such as cosmetics, food, agro and pharma. The business is based in Switzerland and positions its technology as a more humane, faster and cost-effective alternative to many mammalian tests. Nagi Bioscience develops an “Organism-on-Chip” technology that combines microfluidics with the microscopic worm C. elegans to provide an alternative to traditional animal testing. The platform targets pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic industries and biomedical research and aligns with the 3Rs principles (replacement, reduction, refinement). The company has prototypes under validation in collaboration with industrial partners in the chemical and biotech fields. Nagi intends to use the financing to complete development of its first product and prepare market access. Financially, the company closed a CHF1.8m seed financing round. Nagi was founded in January 2019 by Dr. Matteo Cornaglia (CEO) and Dr. Laurent Mouchiroud (CSO) as a spin-off from EPFL and is based in Lausanne. The board recently added Dr. Chris Radloff, who brings 20+ years of life-science-tech experience and angel investing experience.

Led · Series B · Jun 2023

Distran is a pioneer and manufacturer of portable ultrasonic cameras used to detect gas leaks across industries including Oil & Gas, chemical, power generation, composites manufacturing, and space. Its Ultrasonic Cameras combine an integrated microphone array with an optical camera to pinpoint leaks from distance without contact, cutting inspection times by up to 10x versus other techniques. The company launched its first ultrasonic camera in 2013 and has since acquired global industry customers; its devices are used in more than 40 countries and NASA has used the Distran Ultra Pro on the ISS since December 2020. Distran employs more than 50 people and operates from its headquarters in Switzerland with offices in Germany, France, Denmark, the USA, and Bahrain, supported by a worldwide distributor network. Following its recent financing, the company plans to expand its global commercial network and introduce new products with improved reliability, safety, and reduced environmental footprint. Management has set a target to help save over 100 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2026, tying its product development to emissions-reduction goals. Distran is a Zurich-based spin-off of ETH Zurich that develops phased-array acoustic sensors for industrial condition monitoring. Its flagship product, the Ultra M, is a fast hand-held gas leak localization device that shows leaks in real time on the device screen, enabling safer and roughly 10x faster plant inspections. The Ultra M is already used by major corporations to increase safety, availability and reliability of industrial plants. Distran's phased-array sensors spatially filter sounds to locate defects such as gas leaks or discharges from a safe distance, addressing limitations of traditional acoustic sensors in noisy industrial environments. The company is supported by the Swiss Climate Foundation and aims to reduce risks for industrial workers and the environmental impact of industry. Distran plans to accelerate the market roll-out of the Ultra M and expand its team and operations using new financing proceeds.