Isconova secures 30 million Swedish kronor growth financing
Leading vaccine adjuvant provider set to grow in animal vaccine market and to unlock the value of its technology for human vaccines
Uppsala, 27 June 2008.
Isconova AB, announced today that it has secured financing of 30 million Swedish kronor ( 3,3 m€ ) from InnovationsKapital, a leading Nordic venture capital firm, and a group of private investors. Isconova is a pioneer in vaccine adjuvant technology, with a proprietary, safe and effective ISCOM technology.
"We are extremely pleased to have attracted the support of InnovationsKapital, who have a successful record of backing innovative growth biotech companies in Scandinavia. This new investment will allow Isconova to increase our production capacity and to invest in marketing,” said Bengt Falk, Isconova’s CEO. “It will enable us to build on our existing growth in the animal vaccine sector. We will also be able to accelerate our activities in human vaccines where we already have a very promising partnership on an influenza vaccine."
Isconova’s scientific excellence in the vaccine adjuvant field is backed by commercial validation through several agreements with major healthcare partners and on-market veterinary vaccines. “We feel excited about Isconova’s future,” commented Johan Rask and Ulf Tossman at InnovationsKapital.
Isconova’s adjuvant makes vaccines more protective and longer-lasting. This fills a critical need for safe and effective adjuvants in the fast-growing vaccine industry. Isconova has established a significant production capacity in Uppsala and is already supplying its Matrix adjuvant to corporate partners for use in animal vaccines.
For further information please contact:
At Isconova:
Bengt Falk, CEO, Isconova , phone +46703022254, or bengt.falk@isconova.se
At InnovationsKapital:
Ulf Tossman, Investment Director, InnovationsKapital, phone +46 705 630858, ulf.tossman@innkap.se
Johan Rask, Investment Manager, InnovationsKapital, phone +46 708 946060, johan.rask@innkap.se
About Isconova AB, (www.isconova.se)
Isconova, based in Uppsala, Sweden was established in 2000 by scientists from the Swedish Agricultural University. The Company’s mission is to use its safe and effective ISCOM technology platform to deliver innovative vaccines.
ISCOM is already established as the dominant vaccine adjuvant for horse vaccines in Europe. Isconova has licensed its technology to major vaccine corporations, including Intervet, Schering Plough, Pfizer and Crucell. Isconova will continue to drive growth by extending the use of its adjuvant into dogs, cats and livestock. New developments will allow Isconova to develop research projects to explore the use of ISCOM in human vaccines
About InnovationsKapital, (www.innkap.se)
InnovationsKapital was founded in 1994 and is a private and independent early stage venture capital firm for innovative growth companies. The business, carried out from offices in Gothenburg and Stockholm, is focused on Nordic investments within ICT and Healthcare & Life Sciences – dynamic sectors that are rapidly expanding and where Nordic research plays an important role. To date, more than 60 investments have been made. Successful exits include Altitun, Arexis, BioInvent/Alligator, Carmen Systems, Kreatel Communications, NordNav and Spotfire. InnovationsKapital advises four venture capital funds aggregating EUR 317 million in committed capital. The capital is provided by highly reputable Swedish and international institutional investors.