Cellartis AB Raises € 8 Million for the Development of Human Functional Cells
BioFund New Shareholder in the Innovative Stem Cell Company
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN. Cellartis AB is pleased to announce the successful completion of a financing round led by a new investor, Bio Fund Management Ltd of Finland (BioFund). Existing shareholders, InnovationsKapital, Catella Healthcare Investments, T-bolaget, Texcel and Barnwik AB, also participated in the financing round. “The financing will allow Cellartis to accelerate the development of different human cell types for use in drug discovery, as well as toxicological testing, and generate GMP grade cells in large quantities necessary for several applications, including, longer term, regenerative medicine. Moreover, the financing will provide the start of Cellartis international expansion”, said Mats Lundwall, CEO of Cellartis. The company’s aim is to offer its client companies the ability to more accurately predict human safety and efficacy profiles. This will lead to higher quality data generation, as well as a significantly reduced use of laboratory animals. Today, Cellartis has the largest number of blastocyst derived cell lines worldwide and more than 100 international academic collaborations. The company also collaborates with several multinational companies in commercialisation of cell technologies based on its cell lines. The commercialisation is yet in the early stages. Cellartis has received major grants from the European Union, the National Institutes of Health (USA), the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Swedish Animal Welfare Agency. “We are excited to be a shareholder in Cellartis, which is one of the leading players in this new and rapidly expanding area of stem cell business”, commented Keijo Väkiparta, Partner and Investment Director of BioFund. Contacts: Mats Lundwall, CEO Cellartis, +46 (0)31 758 0900 Johan Hyllner, COO Cellartis, +46 (0)31 758 0902 Professor Anders Vedin, MD, PhD, Chairman of the Board, +46 (0)708 76 15 70 Keijo Väkiparta, Partner and Investment Director, BioFund, +358 400 455 571