DBV Technologies raises €6 million (EUR) in Series B investment and secures new corporate investor
22 January 2009, Paris, France: - DBV Technologies, a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of non-invasive epicutaneous diagnostics and immunotherapies for allergy, announced today it successfully closed a €6million (EUR) investment with new investor ALK-Abello, a leading worldwide immunotherapy company, and returning investor Sofinnova Partners. DBV will use the €6million (EUR) investment to progress Phase I clinical trials for its peanut allergy treatment.
Sofinnova Partners led the round, investing €4million (EUR) alongside returning investors, with ALK-Abello investing €2million (EUR). In addition to an equity sharehold in DBV Technologies, ALK-Abello will also have a seat on DBV Technologies' Board of Directors. In return, ALK-Abello will provide its expertise in preclinical and clinical product development to DBV.
DBV Technologies Chairman and CEO Jean-Francois Biry said: "We are delighted to have attracted such an experienced corporate investor. We are sure their expertise in clinical development will be invaluable for the development of our pipeline, including our upcoming Phase I peanut allergy trials. Also we are very pleased to be financially sponsored again by our leading financial investor, Sofinnova Partners."
ALK-Abello President and CEO Jens Bager said: "We are very pleased to bring our long lasting expertise in Allergy to this promising Biopharmaceutical company and its innovative therapeutic approach towards Peanuts Allergy."
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Facts about peanut allergy
Peanut allergy is one of the most severe food allergy. In the US, more than 6 million people suffer from peanut allergy. This disease can be life threatening when inducing a systemic shock in case of accidental ingestion of peanuts by severely IgE mediated patients.
About Sofinnova Partners - www.sofinnova.fr
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent venture capital firms. With EUR900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners' team consists of 10 professionals who bring valuable market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.
About ALK
ALK is a research-driven global pharmaceutical company focusing on allergy treatment, prevention and diagnosis. Our mission is to improve quality of life for allergic people by developing pharmaceutical products that target the actual cause of allergy. ALK is the world leader in allergy vaccination (immunotherapy) - a unique treatment that induces a protective immune response which reduces and potentially halts the allergic reaction. Allergy vaccination is traditionally administered as subcutaneous injections or sublingual droplets. Our aim is to extend the use of allergy vaccination by introducing new convenient vaccines, thereby offering many more patients a causal allergy treatment. Following this strategy, the world's first tablet-based vaccine against grass pollen allergy, GRAZAX®, was launched in Europe in 2007, and ALK has entered into a strategic partnership with Schering-Plough in North America. ALK has approximately 1,500 employees with subsidiaries, production facilities and distributors worldwide. The company is headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark and listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen A/S. 'ALK' is an abbreviation of 'Allergological Laboratory Copenhagen (København)'. Further information is available at www.alk-abello.com and www.GRAZAX.com