Rigontec, a biopharmaceutical spinout of Bonn University, today achieved a third and final close of its series A round at $32.3m with public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) making another commitment.
NRW.Bank, the development bank of German state North Rhine-Westphalia and pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, through its corporate venturing arm Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, also contributed to the €15m ($16.7m) second extension.
They were joined by VC firms MP Healthcare Venture Management, Sunstone Capital and Wellington Partners Life Sciences.
Rigontec raised an initial $11.9m in 2014 from HTGF, NRW.Bank as well as Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Wellington, which co-led the round. Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Sunston and Forbion Capital Partners then helped increase the series A round to $15.6m in March 2015.
Established in 2014, Rigontec has created therapies to combat cancer, infections and inflammatory conditions by relying on RNA to kill tumour cells. The approach is based on research at Bonn University’s Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology.
The money will allow Rigontec to advance its lead candidate, RGT100, towards clinical trials.
The company has also separately incorporated a US entity in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s German Accelerator Life Sciences initiative. The office will support Rigontec’s future clinical development activities.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site Global Government Venturing.
