Finnish/Dutch biotech company Arivin Therapeutics raises €3M to fight drug-resistant infections

Finnish/Dutch biotechnology company Arivin Therapeutics secures funding to develop therapies for drug-resistant bacterial infections and more.

Finnish/Dutch biotechnology company Arivin Therapeutics has announced the closing of a €3M seed funding round.

The round was led by Michiel Seerden, Life Science & Deep Tech investor and founding partner at Imbestio Capital, with participation from private investors, angel investors, and non-dilutive funding from Business Finland.

Michiel Seerden says, “We are excited to support Arivin Therapeutics as they address a challenge of global proportions with a technology truly capable of making a long-term and sustainable impact. By directly targeting bacterial toxins and biofilms, the company is tackling a major unmet need and unlocking new treatment possibilities—innovations that are badly needed as resistant complications and healthcare costs continue to escalate quickly.”

Therapies to halt resistant infections

Bacterial pathogens have developed resistance mechanisms faster than new antibiotics can be developed, contributing to 4.7 million deaths in 2021. This number is projected to rise to 10 million per year by 2050, with $2T in annual global economic losses, according to the UK Government’s Review on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Center for Global Development.

Helsinki-based Arivin Therapeutics is a biotechnology spin-off company from Aalto University and the University of Helsinki. It is involved in developing therapies to address drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The company serves as the Finnish National Coordinator for AMR in the BEAM alliance, focusing on antimicrobial strategies designed to treat resistant bacterial pathogens while reducing the risk of rapid resistance.

Arivin’s therapies, based on discoveries published in Nature Communications, use a dual mechanism of action. Small molecules neutralise bacterial toxins and disrupt the extracellular polymeric substance that supports biofilms. This approach reduces pathogen burden, limits infection spread, and targets high-priority Gram-negative pathogens, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Capital utilisation

The funding will support Arivin Therapeutics’ research and platform technology, expand its laboratory operations, and grow its team as it works on antimicrobial treatments.

Chris Jonkergouw, CEO of Arivin Therapeutics, says, “Antibiotics are a short-term solution to a long-term problem. As both the medical and economic consequences of resistant bacterial pathogens continue to increase sharply, we need to find more long-term solutions to this global healthcare threat.”

“Our mission is to develop effective therapies against resistant pathogens that can evade rapid bacterial resistance mechanisms. This makes them more effective in the long term and sustainable in use, which is why we call them Future-Proof.”

Jonkergouw adds, “This seed round provides us with the resources to accelerate our early-stage discovery pipeline and advance our lead indication for patients suffering from chronic respiratory infections towards first patient trials.”

With the raised capital, Arivin Therapeutics will advance its lead program through IND-enabling studies for chronic infections in non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis (NCFB) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. Delivered via inhalation, the therapy neutralises bacterial toxins, reduces inflammation and lung damage, enhances antibiotic effectiveness, and may shorten treatment duration. 

The funding will also support progress in the wound infection program, targeting resistant pathogens by lowering bacterial burden, accelerating healing and closure, and enabling prophylactic use to prevent infections. 

In addition, Arivin will further develop its Fast-P platform, a rapid screening technology for identifying molecules that influence resistance in bacterial pathogens.