Promethera gets venture funding
Promethera Biosciences SA, a Belgian company developing cell-based treatments for in-born errors of metabolism and acquired liver disease, has raised €20.3 million in a Series C venture capital round and €5 million in loans and subsidies from the regional government of Wallonia.
Promethera Biosciences SA, a Belgian company developing cell-based treatments for in-born errors of metabolism and acquired liver disease, has raised €20.3 million in a Series C venture capital round and €5 million in loans and subsidies from the regional government of Wallonia.
The proceeds will be used to finance a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of an allogeneic stem cell therapy in patients with urea cycle disorders. The therapy has already been tested in a Phase 1/2 study in patients with urea cycle disorders and Crigler-Najjar syndrome, a rare disorder affecting the metabolism of bilirubin.
The company’s therapy is based on stem cells that are isolated from healthy human livers, expanded and further processed in a proprietary bioreactor to produce heterologous human adult liver progenitor cells (HHALPCs). It is thought that these cells will be able to be used to treat several liver diseases.
The venture financing came from Promethera’s traditional syndicate led by Vesalius Biocapital Partners of Luxembourg and two new investors: SMS Investment, an investment vehicle of Siemag Weiss GmbH & Co. KG, a holding of the Weiss entrepreneurial family, and SFPI-FPIM, the Belgian state investment and holding company.
Promethera announced the funding on 25 November 2014.
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