SEVILLE, SPAIN – The development of a technology able to deliver multi-pathogen vaccine candidates against the most worrisome antibiotic-resistant bacteria has attracted new investors to Vaxdyn, the Portuguese venture capital firm Bionova Capital and the international cross-sectorial Arquimea Group. Each of the new investors has joined the capital of Vaxdyn with the acquisition of shares valued €300,000 in two tranches.
Bionova Capital is a leading venture capital firm investing in and building disruptive life science companies across Europe. Led by the highly experienced pharmaceutical entrepreneur Peter Villax (chairman) and life science investor Ricardo Perdigão Henriques (CEO), Bionova Capital brings key strategic value to Vaxdyn. Arquimea is a cross-sectoral international technology group developing solutions and innovative products in highly demanding activity sectors. With this investment on Vaxdyn, the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria joins other strategic areas in the healthcare division of Arquimea, like Covid-19 diagnostics, diagnostics based on epigenetic markers, and innovative technologies for the nervous system and human reproduction.
The new investments were accompanied in a capital increase round by a €100,000 investment from the Mind the Gap Program led by The Botín Foundation, triggered by certain milestones fulfilled by Vaxdyn.
Celebrating counting on the new partners, Juanjo Infante, CEO of Vaxdyn, commented “We welcome Bionova Capital and Arquimea to our company. Bionova Capital’s track record and experience in supporting the development of early-stage biotech companies across Europe makes it an ideal partner to our vaccine developments. Arquimea also brings the force of a highly innovative technological group in expansion and betting hard on biotechnology”.
Bionova Capital, Arquimea, and Mind the Gap are co-investing in Vaxdyn together with CARB-X, the Boston-based non-profit organization funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority of the USA (BARDA), and the Wellcome Trust, among others. CARB-X awarded up to $7.3 million in non-dilutive funding based on milestones to Vaxdyn for development of the lead vaccine candidate of Vaxdyn until completing the first-in-human study.
“The COVID-19 pandemic showed that we need to start investing ahead of future outbreaks, and antimicrobial resistance is already taking thousands of people’s lives, both in developed and developing countries”, said Peter Villax, Chairman, Bionova Capital. “If successful, this vaccine will be one of the most important weapons against bacterial pneumonia”. “We were impressed by the company’s promising preliminary results, which showed that this vaccine has the potential to be a much-needed solution to fight the global superbug crisis”, said Ricardo Perdigão Henriques, CEO, Bionova Capital.
About Vaxdyn
Vaxdyn is dedicated to improving quality of life in populations affected by infections globally. Vaxdyn’s vision is to create specific immunity in high-risk populations against the most antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens. Headquartered in Seville, Spain, Vaxdyn works with an international network of collaborators in the development of multi-pathogen vaccines for preventing infections in individuals affected by chronic diseases of the lungs, liver, kidney, immunocompromised by several co-morbidities such as diabetes or cancer, and populations associated with nursing homes and hospital settings. Vaxdyn is strongly committed to contribute to reducing antibiotic use in the world by following a One-Health approach.
About Bionova Capital
Bionova Capital is a healthcare-focused venture capital firm, investing in early-stage life science companies. Founded in 2015, Bionova Capital actively manages a portfolio of six companies, two in the UK, one in Spain and three in Portugal. Bionova Capital invests in groundbreaking therapeutics, medtech and digital health startups across Europe.
About Arquimea
Arquimea is an international cross-sectorial industry group with sites in Spain, Germany, USA, and Malaysia, offering innovative solutions and products in Aerospace & Defence, cross-sectorial industrial services, the Agrotech, Healthcare, and Fintech sectors, for the last 15 years.
About Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap was created by The Botín Foundation in 2011 with the purpose of boosting entrepreneurship in the life sciences sector and bringing technologies developed by Spanish organizations to the market, creating social and economic development.
About CARB-X
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X is led by Boston University and funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). CARB-X is investing up to $500 million from 2016-2021 to support innovative antibiotics and other therapeutics, vaccines, and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X supports the world’s largest and most innovative pipeline of preclinical products against drug-resistant infections. CARB-X is headquartered at Boston University School of Law. carb-x.org/. Follow us on Twitter @CARB_X.
CEO Vaxdyn Contact
Juan José Infante
Media Vaxdyn Contact
María Teresa Díaz
Bionova Capital Contact
Ricardo Perdigão Henriques – CEO
