EpiTherapeutics, a Denmark-based biopharmaceutical company developing anti-cancer drugs, has received research fees and potential royalties from peer Abbott to work on a new treatment and also added Merck Serono’s corporate venturing unit as its latest member of its investment consortium.
The value of the upfront or royalty payments from Abbott to EpiTherapeutics were undisclosed.
Merck Serono Ventures joined the extended seed round for EpiTherapeutics, which has raised DKr51.5m ($9.2m) since launching in October 2008. Merck Serono Ventures joins Lundbeckfond Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of a local foundation, Novo Seeds, which invests on behalf of another Danish foundation, state-backed venture capital firm Seed Capital and drugs company OSI Pharmaceuticals.
When OSI joined the consortium in August, EpiTherapeutics had raised DKr42m, implying Merck invested nearly DKr10m.
Martin Bonde, chief executive of EpiTherapeutics, said: "Expanding our syndicate to include Merck Serono Ventures adds another investor with significant drug discovery expertise."