Dutch-based Artica Therapeutics bags €12M to help patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory disorders

Leiden-based Artica Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, announced on Thursday, November 2 that it has secured €12M in a seed round of funding.

The funding round was co-led by Thuja Capital and Seroba, with participation from InnovationQuarter and founding investor BioGeneration Ventures (BGV). 

Artica Therapeutics will use the fund to advance its small molecule pipeline of novel covalent therapies to transform the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

“At Artica, we have created a unique approach to developing covalent drugs. We have more than a decade of experience in covalent binding technology, unique assay capabilities, ability to select optimal targets, and importantly a track record of successful delivery of approved and marketed covalent-based drugs,” says Tjeerd Barf, co-founder and CEO of Artica.

“We have a patient-centric approach, and the primary goal is to advance our innovative new drug candidates for patients suffering from severe inflammatory or immunological conditions. We are confident that we have the right partners in our syndicate to support us in executing our vision,”adds Barf.

Artica Therapeutics: Developing small molecule medicines

Founded by Tjeerd Barf, Arwin Ridder, and Prof. Ad IJzerman in 2020, Artica Therapeutics is focusing on the development of small molecule medicines to treat diseases of high unmet medical need, e.g. inflammatory diseases. 

Artica Therapeutics has developed specific expertise to target so-called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which were previously difficult to target for drug development.

The company’s board of directors will include Michel Briejer (Thuja), Alan O’Connell (Seroba), Diede Brunen (BGV), and Tjeerd Barf (Artica).

The investor

Thuja Capital Management (Thuja Capital) manages several venture capital funds aimed at building and scaling companies in the fields of (bio)pharmaceuticals, medtech, and digital health. 

Thuja provides capital and support to entrepreneurs with ground-breaking products.

“Artica’s team harbours top-notch expertise regarding covalent drug development, which is an important reason to invest in Artica. We are extremely happy to be able to support Artica’s mission to develop better treatments addressing unmet medical needs,” says Michel Briejer, Managing Partner at Thuja. 

Seroba is a European life sciences venture capital firm based in Dublin and Paris, investing its fourth Fund. It backs biotech and medtech innovations that will transform the treatment of unmet medical needs. 

Alan O’Connell, a Partner at Seroba says, “We have been tracking the covalent space for some time and were attracted by the ability of Artica to harness its huge potential. We believe this approach can help identify the next generation of therapies required to address the significant unmet needs in autoimmune disease.”