University of Bern spinout Arctos Medical has been acquired by existing shareholder Novartis.
Arctos Medical, a Switzerland-based developer of gene therapies to restore sight that was spun out of University of Bern, was acquired by pharmaceutical firm Novartis for an undisclosed amount today.
Founded in 2012, Arctos Medical is working on optogenetics-based adeno-associated virus gene therapies to treat diseases that involve photoreceptor loss – causing blindness – such as inherited retinal dystrophies and age-related macular degeneration.
The technology was developed by Arctos’ scientific co-founders Sonja Kleinlogel and Michiel van Wyk.
The pair secured an initial investment from Walter Inäbnit, although further details could not be ascertained.
Arctos was subsequently incubated at ND Capital, then known as NanoDimension, and secured CHF8m ($8.1m) in series A financing led by ND Capital and backed by Novartis Venture Fund, a corporate venturing vehicle for Novartis, in December 2019.
Cynthia Grosskreutz, global head of ophthalmology at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, said: “We…
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).
