Our London and Cambridge Life Sciences teams advised Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund GmbH (“BIVF”), Novo Holdings REPAIR Impact Fund (“Novo”) and Evotec SE (“Evotec”) on their lead series A investment in Centauri Therapeutics Limited (“Centauri Therapeutics”), as part of a funding round which raised £24 million (c. $32 million). The funding will support the continued advancement of Centauri Therapeutics’ antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research and development, using the Alphamer® platform to identify and progress novel antibacterial candidates through first-in-human trials, for difficult-to-treat infections.
Centauri Therapeutics is an immunotherapy company focused on infectious diseases. All projects harness a powerful and clinically validated immune mechanism which redirects naturally existing antibodies to treat life-threatening diseases. Centauri Therapeutics holds an exclusive worldwide license to exploit the Alphamer® immunotherapeutics platform within the field of infectious diseases.
BIVF, headquartered in Ingelheim, is the venture fund arm of the Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation. Created in 2010, BIVF invests in ground-breaking therapeutics-focused biotechnology companies to drive innovation in biomedical research. BIVF is searching for significant enhancements in patient care through pioneering science and its clinical translation by building long-term relationships with scientists and entrepreneurs.
Novo, headquartered in Copenhagen, is a leading international life sciences investor, managing the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The REPAIR (Replenishing and Enabling the Pipeline for Anti-Infective Resistance) Impact Fund invests in novel therapeutics and vaccines targeting critical resistant pathogens. It focuses on early stage drug development (lead optimization) to the early stages of clinical development (Phase 1).
Evotec, headquartered in Hamburg, is a life science company with a unique business model to discover and develop highly effective therapeutics and make them available to patients. The Company’s multimodality platform comprises a unique combination of innovative technologies, data and science for the discovery, development and production of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products.
The deal team consisted of Sophie McGrath, Kenny Walker-Durrant, Heidi Fitchett and Megan Gibson, with specialist support from Tim Worden, Georgia Powell, Lucy Sharples, Anjlee Sakaria, Curtis McCluskey and Joseph Ndep.
For more details, read the press release.