vasopharm GmbH, a Wurzburg, Germany-based private biopharmaceutical company developing a novel treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), closed a €9.5m financing.
The round was co-led by HeidelbergCapital Private Equity and EF Investments, with participation from existing investors Bayern Kapital, Future Capital, clients of Hanseatic Asset Management and Ringtons Holdings and new investor Creathor Ventures. In conjunction with the funding, Christian Leikert, Partner at Creathor Ventures, joined vasopharm’s board of directors.
The company intends to use the funds to complete Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) scale up and stability testing in preparation for commercial scale production, ahead of the potential filing of a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and explore additional indications.
Founded in July 1998 as a spin-off from the University of Würzburg Medical School by Harald Schmidt, MD, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Ulrich Walter, MD, Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry and led by Christian Wandersee, Chief Executive Officer, vasopharm is a drug development company focused on small molecule therapeutics for treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The company’s lead drug candidate VAS203 (Ronopterin) is currently in the Phase III NOSTRA trial assessing efficacy and safety of VAS203 for the treatment of moderately to severely injured closed head traumatic brain injury patients.
Current approaches to the treatment of acute TBI focus on short term patient mortality and have no significant impact on reducing long-term physical and cognitive deficits. VAS203 avoids unwanted side effects, combined with unprecedented clinical efficacy. The European regulator, EMA has granted the drug orphan drug designation for moderate to severe brain injury.
To date, vasopharm has raised about €50m to date through several financing rounds from various Family Investment Offices and Venture Investors.
FinSMEs
11/07/2019