Denmark-based Evosep, the bioscience company that claims to be leading the standardisation of proteomics for clinical use, announced on Monday that it has raised $40M (approximately €37.48M) in a fresh round of funding.
Evosep aims to improve quality of life and patient care by innovating how protein-based clinical diagnostics are performed.
Studying proteins in a biological mechanism — both their individual functions and their collective interactions — is known as proteomics. The aim of clinical proteomics is to assess a biological sample against a profile panel of chosen proteins to determine whether it is healthy or sick (within given statistical margins).
Investors in this round
The investment came from Novo Holdings, an international life science investor. Denmark’s Export & Investment Fund is among Evosep’s existing investors and has been investing in the company since its inception in 2016.
Established in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation claims to be one of the biggest corporate foundations in the world, and Novo Holdings, a holding and investment business, is in charge of managing its assets. By producing long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings aims to enhance human health and the sustainability of society and the environment. As of 2021, Novo Holdings had total assets of $106B.
Stephen Van Helden, Principal at Novo Holdings, says, “Evosep’s technology can profoundly impact the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Its platform addresses some of the most common technical pain points that have historically held back the widespread application of proteomics.”
With this investment, Stephen Van Helden will join Evosep’s Board of Directors.
Making clinical proteomics robust and faster
Evosep aims to innovate protein-based clinical diagnostics with the goal of enhancing patient care and quality of life. For that, the company has partnered with top scientists from around the world to create new technologies and solutions that will make sample separation 100 times more robust and 10 times faster than current alternatives.
The company was founded in 2016 by proteomics technology pioneer Ole Vorm and some of Evosep’s senior leaders, who all have a long history of working together in the field of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
According to Evosep, the team has commercialised a ‘best-in-class’ liquid chromatography platform that has been received well by both the scientific community and the pharmaceutical industry.
Evosep’s platform combines high sample throughput with ‘excellent’ reproducibility (i.e., useful, usable data) between sample runs and between instruments and sites. And the company claims that its technology shapes the potential of proteomics by developing valuable applications, enabling widespread use, and the development of clinically meaningful protein-based diagnostics.
Capital utilisation
Evosep says that the funds will help them promote clinical proteomics applications made possible by its standardised liquid chromatography technology.
Additionally, the funds will also enable the company to further expand its footprint globally, particularly in the US market, offering additional clients a solution for reliable, high-throughput proteomics.
Christian Ravnsborg, CEO of Evosep, says, “We are delighted to have Novo Holdings as a new shareholder in Evosep. Novo Holdings is a well-known and highly regarded long-term investor with significant expertise in working with innovative life sciences businesses to unlock their potential. The combined experience and investment will enable us to accelerate our already strong growth and further expand our platform towards bedside care proteomics, both independently and through our many vendor relationships.”
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