Belgium-based RNA immunotherapy developer EtheRNA secured €34m ($38.2m) on Tuesday in a series B round featuring pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Ingelheim and China Grand.
Financial services firm BNP Paribas also took part, though its BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity vehicle, as did LSP, Omega Funds, PMV, Yijing Capital, Fund+ and Novalis LifeSciences.
The corporates invested through subsidiaries Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Grand Decade. EtheRNA is also planning out a strategic partnership agreement with China Grand.
EtheRNA is working on immunotherapy treatments for cancer and infectious diseases based on its messenger RNA (mRNA) technology platform, TriMix, which uses three mRNA molecules to induce T cells to convert into cytotoxic or mature helper T-cells in order to fight off disease.
The company was spun out by Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2013. LSP and PMV co-its $26.9m series A round three years later, investing alongside Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Omega Funds and Fund+.
Russell Greig, EtheRNA’s chairman, said: “We are delighted with the response from both existing and new investors. In addition, the strategic partnership with China Grand Pharma opens a wealth of opportunities in this potentially vast market and we are looking forward to concluding this partnership.”
The round comes at a hot time for mRNA technology developers as its potential use in a Covid-19 vaccine becomes apparent. KfW agreed to invest $339m in CureVac at a valuation of about $1.47bn on Monday while GreenLight Biosciences raised $102m the same day.
