Corporate venturing units Novartis Venture Fund and MP Healthcare Venture Management (MPH) have reinvested as part of a consortium in Covagen, a Switzerland-based biotechnology company.
Venture capital firm Seroba Kernel Life Sciences led the SFr6.3m ($7.5m) series A round in Covagen, which also included peers Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Ventech.
Covagen spun out of technology university ETH Zurich in 2007 with local drugs group Novartis’ backing and previously raised an undisclosed amount from Novartis Venture Fund and MPH, the corporate venturing unit of Japan’s Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MTP) and Mitsubishi Chemical, in October 2009.