Minervax finds verve with $5m

Minervax, a Denmark-based vaccine developer based on Lund University research, has raised €4.4m ($5m) in a round led by pharmaceutical firm Novo’s antimicrobial resistance-focused Repair Impact Fund.
Repair Impact Fund invested $4.1m through the deal, with the remaining $900,000 supplied by venture capital firm Sunstone Life Science Ventures.
Founded in 2010, Minervax is working on a vaccine for group B streptococcus (GBS), a normal bacterium that can cause life-threatening infections when present in newborn babies.
The vaccine would be administered to pregnant women and contains an antigen sampled from the surface of GBS proteins to provoke an immune system response that would prevent GBS-derived infections.
Minervax’s vaccine achieved positive results during its initial phase 1 clinical testing. The funding will help complete another phase 1 trial that adds a second vaccine component with the aim of tackling almost all GBS strains harmful to neonatal babies.
Proceeds will also fund chemistry, manufacturing and control work on Minervax’s vaccine ahead of planned phase 2 trials.
Minervax began life with an investment of undisclosed size from VC fund Seed Capital, according to Berlingske, and had also received capital from Lund University’s Innovation System commercialisation arm at an undisclosed date.
Novo Seeds, the seed investment vehicle owned by Novo, subsequently led a $4m round for Minervax in 2014 that featured Sunstone Capital and LF Investment, part of non-profit fund manager Lauritzen Foundation.
State-owned investment vehicle Danish Growth Fund arranged a syndication loan as part of the 2014 round. Novo Seeds also led a $2.4m round for Minervax two years later, again with contributions from Sunstone Capital and LF Investment.