Rigontec GmbH, a Bonn, Germany-based biopharmaceutical company developing RNA-based immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases, raised €4.8m in a second closing of its Series A financing round.
The investment brought the total Series A to €14.25m adding Forbion Capital Partners and Sunstone Capital to the company’s investor base including Wellington Partners, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, NRW.BANK and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). In conjunction with the funding, Holger Reithinger from Forbion Capital Partners and Sten Verland from Sunstone Capital joined Rigontec’s Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to progress its lead drug candidate into clinical proof-of-concept studies, and to expand its pipeline based on its proprietary RNA-sensing technology.
Launched in January 2014 by Prof. Gunther Hartmann and Prof. Veit Hornung as a spin-out of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology at the University Hospital of the University of Bonn, Germany and led by Dr. Christian Schetter, CEO, Rigontec is developing synthetic ligands of a novel receptor of the innate immune system, Retinoic acid Inducible Gene I (RIG-I), which recognizes viral RNA. RNA motifs that activate RIG-I promote the destruction of diseased cells and the induction of a lasting immune memory thereby treating and preventing recurrence of disease. Its lead compound RGT100, targeting RIG-I, is currently being evaluated for development in several cancer types.
FinSMEs
24/03/2015
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14/10/2014: Rigontec GmbH Raises €9.45m in a First Closing of a Series A Financing Round to Advance RNA-based Immunotherapeutics for Cancer and Viral Diseases