AAA Curevac adds nearly $30m to its coffers

Curevac adds nearly $30m to its coffers

Curevac, a Germany-based biotechnology company backed by pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, has added $29.5m to a funding round that now totals almost $140m.

The tranche was co-led by LBBW Asset Management Investmentgesellshaft, part of public pension fund Baden-Württembergische Versorgungsanstalt für Ärzte, Zahnärzte und Tierärzte (BWVA), and state-owned financial services firm Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg.

The capital adds to a $110m initial tranche closed in November 2015 that was led by Baillie Gifford and backed by Chartwave, Coppel Family, Northview, Sigma Group, Dievini Hopp BioTech and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Curevac, whcich was spun out of Tübingen University in 2000, is working on therapies that exploit messenger RNA, the molecules that carry genetic information from the DNA to ribosomes, and which are found in living cells and build proteins.

Based on research by Ingmar Hoerr, Curevac’s approach means the human body could be programmed to produce its own disease-fighting proteins. The funding will be used to advance the development of its product pipeline.

Curevac has now raised approximately $360m in total funding. The company has formed a range of strategic partnerships, including a €430m ($466m) collaboration deal with Boehringer Ingelheim in 2014 that involved the corporate making an upfront investment of €35m.

Pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur and biotech company In-Cell-Art signed a cooperation agreement in 2011 backed by $33.1m in funding from the US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Other Curevac investors include VC firms DH Capital, OH Beteiligungen and Leonhardo Venture.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *