Numaferm, a Germany-based peptide-focused spinout from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, closed a seed round that featured the investment subsidiary of speciality chemicals producer Evonik Industries, Evonik Venture Capital, on Monday.
Evonik was joined by German public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and assorted angel investors, including Detlev Riesner and Jürgen Schumacher. While no specific figure was provided for the round, it is in the single digit million-euro range (€1m = $1.2m) range.
Numaferm previously raised a first tranche of undisclosed size in May 2017 that featured HTGF and the European Investment Fund, an EU-owned agency tasked with providing capital to SMEs, as well as Detlev Riesner and Jürgen Schumacher.
Numaferm offers a microorganism-based manufacturing process for peptides, a key ingredient in many pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Whereas the traditional chemical synthesis process for peptides can be prohibitively expensive, Numaferm’s approach can be used on an industrial scale.
Founded earlier this year, Numaferm is based on the doctoral thesis of founder Christian Schwarz, who researched biology, chemistry and biotechnology at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
The startup previously received capital from the Exit Research Transfer program, which is operated by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs.
Schwarz, now managing director at Numaferm, said: “In Evonik we have found a strategic investor with extensive experience in developing innovative technologies and in tapping new markets.”
