f-star raises EUR 8m in extended Series A Financing
2010-01-06
Vienna, Austria, (January 6, 2010). f-star Biotechnologische Forschungs-und Entwicklungsges.m.b.H has announced the closing of an EUR 8 M Extended Series A financing. The investment round was co-led by MP Healthcare Venture Management (MPH) and Merck Serono Ventures. f-star’s existing investors comprising Atlas Venture, Aescap Venture, Novo Ventures and TVM Capital also participated in this round.
The new financing will support drug discovery and development efforts using f-star’s proprietary Modular Antibody Technology. The technology allows the engineering of new antigen binding sites into constant and variable domains of antibodies and has already led to the development of two promising molecular formats, Fcab™ and mAb2. Fcabs allow novel therapeutic candidates to be isolated which, despite being one third the size of immunoglobulin G (IgG), retain all normal antibody functionalities (antigen binding, immune effector functions and long in vivo half life), while mAb2 technology provides the opportunity to add additional functionality, specificity, selectivity or potency to existing antibodies.
Dr Kevin FitzGerald, CEO of f-star, commented “We have completed this significant investment round despite the current financial climate and I am pleased to welcome MPH and Merck Serono Ventures as new shareholders of f-star. Both MPH and Merck Serono Ventures are investors with a strong strategic focus and the connections they have with their parent pharmaceutical organisations will provide valued support for f-star as it moves product candidates into the clinic. I am also grateful to our existing investors, Atlas, Aescap, Novo and TVM Capital for their continued support and encouragement. This investment, coupled with a rapidly maturing technology and highly committed management and staff, provides a solid platform on which f-star can create novel medicines and grow significant value”.
Dr Jeff Moore, Vice President MPH commented: “After an extensive evaluation of next generation antibody companies, f-star stood out with its simple yet powerful technology which has the potential advantages of smaller protein scaffolds while retaining the significant benefits of traditional antibodies”.
Roel Bulthuis, Head of Merck Serono Ventures added: “We are excited to join the f-star team and look forward to further supporting the development of f-star's suite of technologies. f-star's platform represents a unique opportunity to generate drug formats that could allow us to leverage our understanding of target biology in our core therapeutic areas”.
For further details please contact:
Media contact
Adam Michael
College Hill Life Sciences
+44 20 7866 7851
Company contact
Kevin FitzGerald PhD MBA, CEO
Tel: +44 1223 497116
office@f-star.com
f-star raises EUR 8m in extended Series A Financing 0.00 kb (en)