Captario simulates the future of Big Pharma

The innovative start-up company Captario has raised 50 million SEK to meet an increasing interest from the global pharma industry. Captario’s software makes it possible to analyze complex decisions in drug development in ways unheard of until now.

Investment AB Spiltan is the largest institutional investor when the Sahlgrenska Science Park company Captario gears up with an additional 50 million SEK. Captario’s existing owners, led by Almi Invest, and a number of new investors, also participate in the investment round.

”We are happy to have added so many reputable, professional investors to our group of owners. We now have the ability to strengthen our presence in the US and increase our capacity for product development in Göteborg”, says Johannes Vänngård, CEO and one of Captario’s three founders.

”This is one of the largest investment rounds for an unlisted life-science start-up in the western region of Sweden. It is a sign that the region’s competence in artificial intelligence can attract larger amounts of capital”, says Carl-Peter Mattsson, responsible for investor relationships and capitalization at Sahlgrenska Science Park.

En route from idea to a new drug, pharma companies make many difficult and decisive decisions in order to get the best clinical and commercial outcomes possible. The pharma industry has experienced reduced margins in recent decades and is increasing focus on the important decisions for development projects and portfolios.

”Using our software, Captario SUM, pharma companies can compare alternative ways of developing a new drug and look at possible futures to understand the long-term effects of their decisions. Not infrequently, project teams can find ways that increase the value of the drug Project by 10s of millions of dollars. We see almost unlimited possibilities for the product so long as we can continue to attract people with leading-edge skills in mathematics and software development”, Mr. Vänngård continues.

“Captario’s leadership have positioned the company well for an up-coming growth phase and we look forward to being a long-term partner on their onward journey. The company’s growing client base confirms the match between the company’s offering and the market’s need to improve the management of complex projects”, says Björn Persson, Investment Manager at Investment AB Spiltan.

The technology has aroused a lot of interest in the global pharma industry. In 2017, Novartis, one of the world’s largest pharma companies, took the step of using Captario SUM to evaluate their whole development portfolio. This year, three more of the largest, global pharma companies have started pilot projects with Captario.

Redeye AB was the financial advisor and Ramberg Advokater legal advisor for the transaction.

For more information, please contact 

Johannes Vänngård, CEO, Captario AB, 070-6958312, johannes.vanngard@captario.com 

Lars-Göran Andersson, Chairman, Captario AB, 0701-850 501, helge@circus.se 

Carl-Peter Mattsson, Sahlgrenska Science Park, 0708-69 93 54, carl-peter.mattsson@sahlgrenskascience park.se Learn more at sahlgrenskasciencepark.se