After 10 years of operating two independent and successful biotech investment units, each with its own mandate and investment focus, we are creating a new combined fund – Lundbeckfonden BioCapital – with a new and larger investment mandate.
Managing Partner Christian Elling introduces Lundbeckfonden BioCapital.
The new fund will build on the successes of Lundbeckfonden Emerge and focus on the Danish biotech community to support the growth of the local ecosystem. Over the coming years, we will invest up to DKK 4 Billion (€ 530 Million). The creation of Lundbeckfonden BioCapital follows the recent launch of Lundbeck Foundation’s 2030 strategy.
Lundbeckfonden BioCapital
New fund with increased mandate
Merging two existing funds and teams, Emerge and Ventures, each operating for about 10 years.
Increased mandate of DKK
4 billion (530 mEUR).
New team with strong VC, pharma and business development experience
Reinforced on Danish biotech
Geographic focus in Denmark for new investments.
Ambition is to double the size of the portfolio in Denmark in the future.
Aligned with the 2030 strategy of the Lundbeck Foundation.
Continued commitment to existing portfolio
Continued investments in our present portfolio of 19 domestic and international companies through future value inflection points.
The New Team
With the new fund, we are building a new team. Christian Elling will be the Managing Partner and Paul Little will be Operating Partner, both formerly with Lundbeckfonden Emerge, and Lars Gredsted, formerly with Lundbeckfonden Ventures, will be Senior Principal. There are also two new additions to the team, Jacob Falck Hansen and Kevin Dalgaard.
Jacob Falck Hansen, Partner, joins from Novo Nordisk A/S, where he has held several leadership positions, most recently head of Corporate Strategy, where he has been a trusted advisor to senior leadership. He brings a deep understanding of the pharma industry across all parts of the value chain and many disease areas.
Kevin Dalgaard, Principal, joins from Boehringer Ingelheim where he was Strategic Partner in Business Development, leading global licensing activities. Prior to that, Kevin worked at Novo Nordisk A/S for several years in various positions within R&D, Global Marketing and Business Development providing him with great insight and understanding of the whole value chain in the pharma industry.
Portfolio Updates
While COVID-19 continued to impact clinical studies during the last year, our companies managed to execute their clinical development plans including the filing of two new drug applications, initiation of several new studies and readouts of important results from ongoing clinical trials.
The last 12 months have been challenging from a public market perspective, but the BioCapital portfolio still saw three successful NASDAQ IPOs. One of these IPOs – IO Biotech – was the first public listing of a company from the portfolio where Lundbeckfonden was a seed investor. Our private portfolio also continued to perform well with one exit and several large funding rounds setting the companies up for continued success.
Lexeo Therapeutics Closes $100 Series B financing and provides clinical update on Alzheimer’s program:
Lexeo Therapeutics followed their 2020 series A round, with a successful series B round in 2021 raising USD 100m, with participation from existing and new investors. Lexeo focuses on developing novel AAV-based gene therapies to treat genetically defined cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases.
Proceeds from the financing will support the development of Lexeo’s expanded pipeline, including recently acquired cardiac gene therapy programs and additional preclinical programs focused on the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease
Aura Biosciences Completes $75.6 Million Initial Public Offering:
The company will use the combined proceeds to fund the clinical development of its laser-activated virus-like drug conjugate (VDC) platform, including the pivotal Phase III programme for the company’s lead candidate AU-011 for use in first-line choroidal melanoma, a malignant intraocular tumour.
Vifor Pharma acquires Sanifit:
Vifor Pharma acquired Sanifit, a clinical-stage cardio-renal biopharmaceutical company, and will continue the development of SNF472, a novel, first-in-class inhibitor of vascular calcification for the treatment of CUA and PAD in patients with end-stage kidney disease.
NMD Pharma Raises €35 Million in a new Financing and dose first patient in Myasthenia Gravis study:
NMD Phamra, a clinical stage biotech company based in Aarhus developing first in class, small molecule CLC-1 inhibitors for neuromuscular disorders announced the closing of a €35 Million financing round led by new investor Jeito Capital.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to support the company as it progresses its lead candidate, NMD670, through completion of the ongoing Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial in patients with Myasthenia Gravis and expand the number of target indications.
Spero Therapeutics Announces $40 Million Equity Investment from Pfizer Inc. and Licensing Agreement for SPR206:
Spero Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SPRO) – a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments involving multi-drug resistant bacterial infections – announced that Pfizer made a $40 Million equity investment in Spero as part of the Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative.
The two parties also entered into a licensing agreement for SPR206, Spero’s intravenously (IV)-administered next-generation polymyxin product candidate being developed to treat serious multi-drug resistant Gram-negative infections in the hospital setting.
IO Biotech completes IPO and initiates phase III trial for lead programme:
IO Biotech – a clinical-stage biotech company developing novel oncology vaccines completed an IPO on Nasdaq, raising $115 Million.
The company will use the proceeds to fund clinical trials for its early- and late-stage immuno-oncology programmes in collaboration with MSD, under two new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreements for Keytruda. This includes a recently initiated phase III trial for its lead programme IO102-IO103 in metastatic melanoma, which has been granted breakthrough designation by the FDA.
Cytoki Pharma raises $45 Million Series A financing:
Cytoki Pharma is advancing a long-acting interleukin-22 (IL-22) variant to clinical testing, initially focusing on inflammatory bowel disease, and the proceeds from the series A round will be used to support the development of the IL-22 programme through clinical proof of concept studies and, in addition, explore expansion into additional pathologies related to epithelial tissue injury.
Trevi Therapeutics Announces $55 Million Private Placement following positive results from ongoing phase II:
Trevi Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TRVI) - a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing Haduvio™ (nalbuphine ER) for pruritus in prurigo nodularis (PN) and chronic cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), announced that it has $55 Million in a private placement.
The proceeds will be used for the clinical development of Haduvio for chronic cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients.
Other News
SNIPR BIOME Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for SNIPR001:
SNIPR BIOME dosed the first volunteer with SNIPR001, an orally administered CRISPR-based therapeutic which has been granted Fast Track Designation by the FDA.
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