Netherlands-based drug delivery company To-BBB has raised €4m ($5.5m) in the first close of its series B round.
Dutch healthcare investor Jonghoud International and Industrial Bank of Taiwan Management’s Boston Life Science fund were new investors in the B round, alongside existing investors Aescap Venture and Antea Participaties.
Aescap had led To-BBB’s €4m A round in July 2007.
Willem van Weperen, chief executive of to-BBB, which has a G-Technology to distribute drugs to the brain, said: "The pharmaceutical heritage of Jonghoud and the important link to Asia of IBTM will be tremendously beneficial for the development of To-BBB."
Fred Oudshoorn, managing director and founder of Jonghoud, said: "We are looking forward to support To-BBB’s ambitions to become a leading brain drug delivery company."
Peter Wu, chairman of Boston Life Science Fund (IBTM), added: "As a biotech fund based in Taiwan, we are pleased to become an investor in To-BBB. While the G-Technology originated from Taiwan, we are keen to see it becoming a breakthrough in the blood-brain barrier area with the competence and efforts of To-BBB’s team."
With this new investment To-BBB will obtain important clinical validation for its G-Technology by performing a phase I/II study with its lead product 2B3-101. The company will also broaden the application of the G-Technology in several other central nervous system problems, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, after signing 10 collaborations with pharma companies in the past year.
Additional non-dilutive (government) funding programmes will support the company for two years.