Forbion co-leads €129 million Series A financing of VectorY, one of the largest private biotech financings in Europe in 2023
- Round co-led by Forbion and EQT Life Sciences
- Financing will support clinical development of VTx-002, a potentially disease-modifying therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and additional pipeline programs
- Successful fundraising demonstrates value of Forbion platform, with multiple Forbion fund strategies supporting VectorY's development since launch
AMSTERDAM, Nov. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Forbion, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, today announces that its Growth Opportunities Fund has co-led, together with EQT Life Sciences, a €129 million Series A financing in VectorY Therapeutics, a biotech company focusing on the development of innovative vectorized antibody therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The financing is one of the largest private biotech financing rounds in Europe this year. New and existing investors also participated in the financing, including MRL Ventures Fund, a corporate venture arm of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ USA, Insight Partners, ALS Investment Fund, Forbion Ventures, BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) and another known investor.
VectorY will use the proceeds from the financing to support the clinical development of VTx-002, its lead vectorized antibody program targeting TDP-43 for the treatment of ALS, and to accelerate the development of its vectorized antibody platform and pipeline programs.
ALS is a devastating condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. It is characterized by the progressive degeneration of motor neurons, which leads to an average life expectancy after diagnosis of only two to five years. At present, there is no cure available to stop or reverse ALS and currently available treatments only slow disease progression by months.
VectorY was launched in 2020, co-founded by Forbion Ventures and Sander van Deventer, who has a longstanding track record in antibody and gene therapy development and is VectorY's CEO as well as a Forbion Operating Partner. Subsequently, Forbion Ventures Fund IV co-led the €31 million seed financing round in VectorY in 2021. Forbion's Growth Opportunities Fund II co-led the Series A financing as announced today.
Wouter Joustra, General Partner, said, "Under the leadership of Sander van Deventer, a world-renowned researcher and entrepreneur in the field of gene therapy, combined with Forbion's experience in backing pioneering therapies, we expect VectorY to attain significant value generating milestones with this round's proceeds. The broad and high-quality syndicate that we have been able to put together at this stage in VectorY's development is a testament to the confidence of investors in VectorY's unique platform and its pipeline of vectorized antibody treatments for neurodegenerative diseases."
Marco Boorsma, PhD, General Partner and former VectorY CEO, added, "VectorY's successful fundraising demonstrates the value of Forbion's platform of funds and its track record in creating, building and growing innovative biotechs. Our Ventures strategy facilitated VectorY's creation and enabled the company to establish pre-clinical proof of concept for vectorized antibodies in ALS. With Forbion Growth's strategy, we are well positioned to support companies like VectorY, all the way to market approval."
In connection with the financing, Wouter Joustra, General Partner at Forbion, Arno de Wilde, Director at EQT Life Sciences, and Karin Kleinhans, Partner at MRL Ventures Fund, will join VectorY's board of directors.
For more information, please contact:
Forbion Communications
Email: laura.asbjornsen@forbion.com
Head of Communications
Brunswick Group
Ayesha Bharmal, Charis Gresser
Email: Forbion@Brunswickgroup.com
About VectorY
VectorY's mission is to provide people with neurodegenerative diseases a longer, better life by creating transformative vectorized antibody treatments. VectorY's platform combines the promise of precise therapeutic antibodies with one-time AAV-based delivery to the CNS. Unique in-house expertise in antibodies, AAV vectors, protein degradation, manufacturing and neuroscience drive the rapid development of much-needed disease-modifying therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Huntington's disease, and other proteinopathies. Visit www.vectorytx.com/ for more information.
About VTx-002
VTx-002 is being developed to delay disease progression and preserve the quality of life in people with ALS. VTx-002 is a vectorized antibody that selectively binds TDP-43 aggregates and clears them from the cytoplasm of neuronal cells. Simultaneously, it restores the essential function of TDP-43 in the nucleus leading to preservation of neuronal cell function and health. VTx-002 is currently in pre-clinical development.
About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Boston. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-)pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages €3 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio-) pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion's current team consists of over 30 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with investments in over 95 companies across 10 funds. Forbion's record of sourcing, building and guiding life sciences companies has resulted in many breakthrough therapies and valuable exits. Recent portfolio company successes include Inversago, Vectiv Bio, Versanis, Gyroscope, NewAmsterdam Pharma (NASDAQ:NAMS), Engene (NASDAQ:ENGN), and Replimune (NASDAQ:REPL). Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.
For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com
