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Imcyse, a developer of active specific immunotherapies for the treatment and prevention of severe chronic diseases, recently announced that it has raised €35 million ($39.5M) in a Series B financing round and through other channels.
The financing round of €28 million ($31.6M) in equity was led by LSP together with Belgian investors including Epimède, the Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie (SRIW), and the Société Fédérale de Participations et d’Investissement (SFPI). Existing shareholders (Biogenosis, Noshaq, KU Leuven) also participated in the round.
Further to this, Imcyse also received a grant worth €4.6 million ($5.2M) from the Walloon region (DGO6) and a bank loan of €2 million ($2.3M) from Belfius.
These proceeds will be used to advance phase 2 clinical development of Imcyse’s ImotopesTM technology in type 1 diabetes, to initiate clinical trials in multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune diseases and to expand the technology to further indications.
Imcyse’s unique technology platform uses modified peptides (ImotopesTM), which have the potential to cure and to prevent severe chronic autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune diseases, for which there are currently no cures.
At the end of 2017, Imcyse launched a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation clinical study in patients with recent onset insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes in seven European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and the UK). The trial investigates the safety, immune responses and efficacy of Imcyse’s ImotopesTM technology, with results expected end of summer 2019.
“Imcyse’s unique technology platform has shown great potential and we are thrilled to see it advance in type 1 diabetes as well as it being extended to novel indications,” said Jörg Neerman, Partner at LSP.”
“We are delighted to have raised this substantial amount of private and public financing for our future research and clinical developments,” said Pierre Vandepapelière, CEO and CMO of Imcyse. “The success of this round is further validation of the technology platform, following already established collaborations with major pharma companies. We are convinced that Imcyse’s technology can bring great hope for patients with severe diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and many orphan indications. It is also a clear recognition for Imcyse’s team, who have worked hard to improve the platform and the company and to generate excellent results.”
“As a historical investor, we are delighted that Imcyse’s technology has proven to be successful. We are looking forward to further promising results through new clinical research,” said Marc Foidart, COO at Noshaq.
“Imcyse’s technology can be a game changer for the health of patients with severe diseases for which there are no cures,” said Stijn Van Rompay, private investor. “Thanks to the great work of the Imcyse team, we are confident that we were right to accompany this
project since its initial days and I am very happy with this important funding that is a major step towards a great success.”
“Imcyse is a Walloon biotech company with a unique technology that gives hope to patients living with immune-mediated diseases such as type 1-diabetes. We are very pleased to invest in this exciting project and are looking forward to being part of this adventure,” said Christina Franssen, investment manager at S.R.I.W.
“We are pleased to be associated with Imcyse’s development. We congratulate the team on bringing together such a group of experienced investors to back its project. It shows that the company chose the right path to address key indications including type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases,” said François Fontaine, investment manager at SFPI.
“Imcyse has a unique and very promising technology backed by an experienced team. With the strong shareholder base syndicated around the project, we are very confident in the future realization of its potential. Imcyse perfectly fitted our investment criteria,” says Marc Moles Le Bailly, chairman of the board at Epimède.
“This round is a major achievement for Imcyse. We are excited to see that groundbreaking fundamental research and inventions from our university are being transformed in breakthrough new therapies by Imcyse, impacting the lives of patients,” said Paul Van Dun, general manager of KU Leuven Research and Development.
PE Group and NautaDutilh Belgium acted as advisors to Imcyse for this transaction. Dentons Europe LLP acted as advisor to the Investors for this transaction.
— Press release
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