The spinout of Leiden University Medical Center is working on a treatment that prevents acute bleeding in patients taking medication for thrombosis.

VarmX, a Netherlands-based biotech spinout from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) focusing on the development of therapies in the field of haemostasis and thrombosis, closed a seed round of undisclosed size on Tuesday.

The money was supplied by InnovationQuarter, the economic development agency for the South Holland province, and VC firm BioGeneration Ventures, which secured $75m for its latest fund from the EU-owned European Investment Fund (EIF) and the EIF and Dutch state-backed DVI-II this week.

The company was spun out of LUMC, the university hospital of Leiden University, in 2016 and is based on research by Pieter Reitsma, professor emeritus of molecular and experimental medicine at LUMC and chief scientific officer of VarmX.

The company’s lead compound, PseudoXa, is a protein that aims to stop acute bleeding in patients taking Xa inhibitors, commonly used to avoid spontaneous stroke or vein thrombosis.

The money will help drive the further development of PseudoXa.

Leiden University and Uniiq, the early-stage proof-of-concept investment fund for the South Holland province, had earlier provided an undisclosed pre-seed sum.

Pieter Reitsma said: “Innovative research into the properties of a snake venom provided the scientific basis for the factor Xa reversal agent. This is exemplary of the translation of basic research into a potential life-saving therapy.”

Francis Quint, head of InnovationQuarter Capital, added: “We are very pleased to invest in a LUMC spin-off taking a promising research program conducted in Leiden onto the global stage of pharmaceutical development.”

InnovationQuarter manages an €80m ($91.3m) fund as an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Province of South Holland, the Cities of Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Delft, Drechtsteden, Westland and Zoetermeer, Delft University of Technology, Leiden University, LUMC, Erasmus Medical Centre and Foundation HEID (Holding Fund for Economic Investment The Hague).