Agribusiness Wilmar International has led a $50m financing round for Accera, a Singapore-based brain health product developer that has rebranded to Cerecin.
The round included Inventages, the private equity fund backed by food and nutrition product manufacturer Nestlé, as well as non-dilutive grants. Cerecin did not reveal the proportion of equity and grant funding in the round.
Founded in 2001, Cerecin is developing a compound called tricaprilin, which is intended to combat Alzheimer’s disease by supplying an alternative energy substrate for the brain to make up for the metabolic deficit caused by the condition.
In addition to changing its name, the company has also shifted its headquarters from the US to Singapore. It mentioned it had received support from the Singaporean Economic Development Board for the move, implying that EDB could have supplied the grant funding.
The financing will support Cerecin’s product development activities as well as the launch of Axona, the medical food it has developed to help address the dietary needs of Alzheimer’s patients, in the Asia Pacific region.
Gurpreet Singh Vohra, Wilmar International’s head of business development, said: “We are excited to be investing in Cerecin and see this as a strong investment and strategic opportunity for Wilmar.
“With a rapidly aging population in Asia Pacific, and in particular China, we recognise the increasing importance of dementia and brain health as priorities on healthcare agendas throughout the region. There are many potential synergies between Wilmar, Cerecin and Nestlé that span manufacturing, R&D and commercialisation.”
The company raised a total of about $212m in debt and equity financing according to press releases and securities filings, with Nestlé participating in a round that closed at $84m in January 2014 according to a regulatory filing.
Inventages Venture Capital led Accera’s $35m series C round in 2008, investing alongside private equity fund Posco BioVentures, with both taking part as existing backers.
