Lundbeck Foundation invests in an antidote for anticoagulants
With a total of EUR 32 million in Series B investment, Dutch VarmX can progress to the next phase of development of its drug candidate VMX-C001 – and Lundbeckfonden Ventures is one of the participating investors.
Many people at risk of thrombosis take anticoagulants known as factor Xa inhibitors. However, these drugs can result in severe haemorrhage in 2–3% of people who have a serious accident or require acute surgery, and around 50–70% of these need an antidote to prevent the anticoagulant effect.
Together with a syndicate of investors, Lundbeckfonden Ventures has recently participated in a financing round that raised EU 32 million to invest in VarmX, a company in the Netherlands that is developing such an antidote: VMX-C001.
‘Our use of anticoagulants is on the rise, which means the need to counteract their effect in acute situations will also increase,’ says Casper Breum, Senior Partner at Lundbeckfonden Ventures.
‘There’s only one competitive product on the market but it has some disadvantages. For example, it’s difficult to use in acute situations, it has to be given intravenously during the entire surgical procedure, and patients have a higher risk of haemorrhage and thrombosis. So, there’s a clear unmet need for a safer product that can be given in the same dosage to all patients by simple injection. In our opinion, VMX-C001 has the potential to meet this need, and that’s why we’re now investing in VarmX,’ he says.
Up to the end of 2021, this funding will be spent on determining whether the drug is safe and well-tolerated and whether it has the desired therapeutic effect in humans. The money will also add momentum to plans for further production and sales.
In addition to Lundbeckfonden Ventures, the syndicate includes new investors Ysios Capital (Spain), Inkef Capital (the Netherlands) and Life Science Partners (LSP) (the Netherlands) as well as existing investors Biogeneration Ventures and InnovationQuarter.
For further details please contact:
Casper Breum, Senior Partner at Lundbeckfonden Ventures, on +45 4045 5969 or at cb@lundbeckfonden.com.
