Press release -
Athera Biotechnologies completes 24 million SEK financing
Stockholm December 3, 2015 Athera Biotechnologies AB, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new antibody against cardiovascular diseases, has completed a 24 million SEK financing from a consortium led by The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen), Industrifonden and Linc Invest. Additional investors in the consortium are Athera´s Board and management, as well as other investors, including Antaros Medical AB. Dr. Jonas Brambeck, Investment Manager at Industrifonden, will join the Board of Directors.
The 24 million SEK will be used to finance further clinical development of Athera’s lead project PC-mAb, currently in clinical Phase I studies, to become a Phase 2-ready project. PC-mAb provides an opportunity to address the need for improved secondary prevention after revascularization in severe peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients and reduce the associated risks for complications and new cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.
“This marks the beginning of an exciting period for Athera, securing the necessary funding for completing the Phase 1 study in patients and prepare for Phase 2 studies with our fully human antibody PC-mAb,”, said Athera CEO Carina Schmidt. “The new ownership structure will give us access to an excellent platform of experience and capacities that will facilitate our preparations to secure an industrial partner for late clinical development and commercialization.”
Dr Gunnar Olsson, Chairman of the Board, said “Athera´s candidate drug has significant potential to address unmet medical needs in cardiovascular disease. Prevention of complications in patients with severe PAD represents an important niche market and PC-mAb has great opportunities to contribute to better treatment for these patients.”
“We are very pleased with this investment in Athera,” said Mattias Klintemar, Director of Investments for Östersjöstiftelsen “We were an early investor in this interesting company with a unique and promising cardiovascular drug candidate in early clinical development. We are now looking forward to continue our support in the company to achieve its clinical and commercial milestones during the coming years.”
For more information contact:
Jonas Brambeck, Investment Manager, Industrifonden
Phone: +46 (0) 708 791 937 , email: Jonas.brambeck@industrifonden.se
Carina Schmidt, CEO, Athera Biotechnologies AB
Phone: +46 (0)76 1938 190, email:c.schmidt@athera.se
Mattias Klintemar, Director of Investments, Östersjöstiftelsen
Phone: +46 (0)70 932 64 67, email: mattias.klintemar@ostersjostiftelsen.se
Related links
Topics
- Finance
Categories
- investerar
- cardiovascular disease
- financing
- athera
- investment
- hjärtkärlsjukdom
- clinical
About Athera Biotechnologies AB
The mission of Athera is to address the large unmet need for anti-inflammatory therapeutics in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Athera´s focus is on PC-mAb, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical program with block-buster potential. In addition, Athera has developed a biomarker and companion diagnostics product, CVDefine® kit. The biomarker, anti-PC, is linked to increased risk for CVD and could in the future be used for identification of patients that benefit from Athera’s novel therapeutics. Development of PC-mAb is co-funded by EU FP7 in the CARDIMMUN project that was started in 2013. For more information: www.athera.se
About Industrifonden
Industrifonden is one of Sweden's most experienced and active investors in early-stage tech and life science companies aiming for international growth. We are a long-term partner with about SEK 4 billion in assets and serve as an active owner together with entrepreneurs and co-investors. Our passion is to build lasting value and successful companies. For further information, visit www.industrifonden.com or twitter.com/industrifonden
About The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen)
Östersjöstiftelsen (the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies) was founded by the Swedish government in 1994 to support research, doctoral studies and academic infrastructure at Södertörn University. Östersjöstiftelsen has funded approximately 200 research projects and the education of 140 doctoral students at Södertörn University. From 2000 to 2015, Södertörn University has been granted funds totalling SEK 3 billion. In October 2015, the Foundation managed assets totaling over SEK 5 billion.
About Linc Invest AB
Linc invest AB invests in Life Science companies. The main investments are in Pharmalink, MedCap, Stille, Arcoma, SweVet, Bringwell and Boule. For further information, contact Bengt Julander +46 70 319 5909, bengt.julander@linc.se
About Antaros Medical AB
Antaros Medical AB is a Swedish company pioneering new frontiers in innovative MRI & PET imaging techniques in clinical drug development to improve understanding of human pathophysiology. We enable decision makers to optimize outcomes and minimize risk. Our current customers include both small and big pharma companies. For more information: www.antarosmedical.com
