Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Elypta, a Sweden-based cancer diagnostics spinout of Chalmers University of Technology, has obtained SEK64.8m ($5.2m) in a round featuring the university’s investment and incubator arm, Chalmers Ventures, as well as Swedish government-owned investment arm Industrifonden, social entrepreneurship incubator Norrsken Foundation, equity crowdfunding platform Sciety and undisclosed business angels. The spinout is working on AI-driven cancer diagnostics based on biomarkers in urine samples, and will use the funding to distribute its first product – for kidney cancer – to urologists and researchers. The raise comes weeks after Elypta disclosed a €6.1m ($6.7m) “late” seed round with the same investors in addition to venture fund Nina Capital, however it is unclear how the two rounds may be related.
Adranos Energetics, a US-based rocket propellant developer leveraging Purdue University research, has received $1m in an oversubscribed round led by Archibald Cox Jr, chairman of investment firm Sextant Group, according to TechCrunch. The funding will go to extending Adranos’s manufacturing capabilities and recruiting additional team members. Adranos’s solid propellant, Alitec, is designed to bolster rocket performance and supplant existing alternatives that discharge harmful levels of hydrochloric acid. Alitec relies on an aluminium-lithium alloy discovered by co-founder and chief technology officer Brandon Terry during PhD research at Purdue University. Cox Jr invested approximately $600,000 to lead Adranos’s $800,000 round in 2018, with the remaining $200,000 coming from Utah state-backed accelerator Ustar Tap.
Commercialisation firm NetScientific invested $650,000 in US-based cancer immunotherapy developer PDS Biotechnology yesterday as part of a $12m round, to be funded through a 18-month loan facility with Beckman Group, Morningstar reported yesterday. NetScientific is to gain board representation in conjunction with the investment. PDS Biotechnology is focused a T-cell therapy platform called Versamune that would be combined with antigens linked to specific cancers to help the patient’s immune system battle the disease. NetScientific will hold 7.2% equity in PDS following the round, down from about 10% previously. PDS Biotechnology had raised at least $2.1m in equity and debt financing across two rounds in August and September 2016, according to regulatory filings.
Anferia, a Sweden-based developer of an antibacterial patch for bacteria-resistant infections leveraging Chalmers University of Technology research, has raised SEK6.2m ($500,000) in its latest round, according to Breakit. The round was backed by Chalmers Ventures along with Almi Invest, British Corinthian Properties and private investor Alexander Hars. Anferia’s patch contains antimicrobial hydrogels intended to destroy the cell membranes of bacteria, offering a potential alternative to antibiotics. The spinout will invest funding to increase its lab and production capacity as it prepares for regulatory submissions in the EU.
Singulo Solutions, a Sweden-based drug developer founded by Chalmers and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, has raised more than SEK4m ($320,000) from Chalmers Ventures and multiple angel investors. Founded in 2017, the company is preparing drug candidates using a platform constructed through five years of collaboration between AstraZeneca and Chalmers faculty including Fredrik Höök, a professor of biophysics who co-founded the spinout. Singulo’s approach centres on a highly sensitive biosensor instrument that can detect interactions between single molecules, helping to improve the speed and quality of drug design.
Celerum, a UK-based logistics planning and tracking software developer spun out of Robert Gordon University, has obtained £46,800 ($60,900) from commercialisation firm Frontier IP, bringing the latter’s equity to 33.8% from 10% previously. The investment includes the conversion of an earlier $28,400 loan, and Frontier IP will additionally supply an estimated $65,000 worth of operational services. Founded in 2013, Celerum is working on artificial intelligence-based software for logistics and supply chains, building on the insights of its founder John McCall, head of RGU’s school of computing, science and digital media.
Lyro Robotics, an Australia-based workplace automation technology developer spun out from joint research institute Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, has obtained an undisclosed seed sum from Toyo Kanetsu Corporate Venture Investment Partnership, an investment vehicle for oil and storage tank producer Toyo Kanetsu. The spinout was founded in 2018 to develop robotic algorithms, vision systems and grippers which automate picking and packing operations in supply chains. Lyro is currently looking to generate business within Australia.