Therapeutic Peptide Vaccine Developer Affiris Raises €10M

Affiris AG, a Vienna, Austria-based developer of therapeutic peptide vaccines against chronic diseases, raised an additional €10m in funding.

Backers included Santo Holding – the family office of the Strüngmann family – ,the MIG Funds advised by MIG Verwaltungs AG and new investor FCPG Affi GmbH.

Led by Oliver Siegel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and newly appointed Günther Staffler, Chief Technology Officer, Affiris develops therapeutic peptide vaccines against chronic diseases. Its clinical pipeline consists of 3 drug candidates against Parkinson’s, MSA and Hypercholesterolemia. Further vaccine candidates against diabetes, allergies, asthma as well as Huntington’s disease are in preclinical development.
Affiris started Phase 1 clinical development of its Hypercholesterolemia and Atherosclerosis prevention vaccine candidates AT04A and AT06A and expects data from this study in Q1 2017. They target PCSK9, an enzyme which plays a role in the lipid metabolism of the liver. If PCSK9 is blocked, more LDL receptors will be present on the surface of the liver and will remove more LDL cholesterol from the blood.

The company has raised funding of approx. € 130m to date, half of which comes from license income and government grants. It currently employs 60 staff at the Campus Vienna Biocenter in Vienna, Austria.

FinSMEs

28/06/2016

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