Leiden-based Vico Therapeutics, a clinical-stage genetic medicines company, announced on Monday that it has secured €11.5M funding in a second closing of a Series B financing round from Seroba and Kurma Partners.
The announcement comes six months after raising €54M in a Series B funding round earlier this year to support the development of therapies for severe neurological diseases.
Notably, existing investors, including Ackermans & van Haaren (AvH), Droia Ventures, EQT Life Sciences, Eurazeo, Kurma Biofund, Polaris Partners, and Pureos Bioventures, have contributed to a total Series B financing round of €65.8M.
This funding will help Vico Therapeutics, a Netherlands-based company, advance its promising therapies and potentially make significant progress in treating severe neurological diseases.
Vico Therapeutics: Committed to advancing RNA-modulating therapies
Founded in 2019, Vico Therapeutics is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company developing therapies for severe neurological diseases.
Its lead program, VO659, is currently in a Phase 1/2a clinical study of patients with spinocerebellar ataxia types 3 and 1 and Huntington’s disease, devastating neurodegenerative diseases for which there are currently no disease-modifying treatments available.
Vico Therapeutics is committed to advancing RNA-modulating therapies for patients with severe genetic neurological disorders.
The firm’s platform, VICOMER, employs precision chemistry to design ASOs that modulate RNA through various approaches, including translation inhibition, splicing modulation, editing, degradation, and activation.
The goal is to identify RNA modulators with the desired target engagement and safety profile for different diseases.
The investor
Based in Dublin, Seroba is a European life sciences venture capital firm that invests from its fourth Fund.
The VC focuses on value creation by backing cutting-edge biotech and medtech innovations that will transform patient treatment and address unmet medical needs.
Catello Somma, Partner at Seroba, comments, “We are extremely proud to support Vico in this financing round and join the existing investors. The growth capital will help the Company bolster its clinical programs to deliver life-changing outcomes for patients with polyQ diseases, such as SCA and Huntington’s. We are excited to partner with Vico and its remarkable team as the Company advances its programs.”
Kurma Partners is a key European Venture Capital firm financing innovation in Healthcare and Biotechnology, from pre-seed to growth capital.
Kurma invests through its funds Kurma Biofund I, II, and III, Kurma Diagnostics and Kurma Diagnostics 2, and the most recent Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund, for which this is the eighth investment.
Daniel Parera and Jean-Francois Rivassou, Partners at Kurma, comment, “Vico is another very nice example of a company where Kurma Partners acted as a co-founding investor (Rémi Droller on behalf of Kurma Biofund III alongside EQT Life Sciences) that has progressed into clinical development, where Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund can add further support to the Company and its experienced management team in the continuation of Vico’s path together with existing investors.”
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