BerGenBio has secured NOK7 million from local Sarsia Seed and Development funds to continue its leading research and development activities into new and original cancer treatments. The company’s CellSelect™ advanced technology platform is gaining increasing traction amongst drug developers internationally because of its ability to help them understand more fully the underlying causes of cancer and in turn develop completely new paradigms for its treatment. In addition to private equity, BerGenBio has also been awarded grants from Innovation Norway and FORNY. The company has recently received additional financial support from the NFR to enable its life sciences graduate recruits to continue PhD studies.
Richard Godfrey, CEO, welcomed Sarsia’s commitment: “Sarsia have been one of the key drivers of growth in the Norwegian life sciences sector over the last decade and it is encouraging to see them backing local Bergen companies. As CEO it is a real bonus for me to have investors who really understand this complex market and can provide not just funds but also invaluable advice and contacts. The funding will enable us to further develop our CellSelect platform to both increase our contract service revenue and develop our own pipeline. ”
“Having invested in 13 Life Science early phase companies over the last four years, Sarsia Seed has been the driving force in raising more than USD 30 million in technologies that promise to leave a broad footprint within in the international bio/pharma world. However, BerGenBio’s prospects are rarely found with its unrivaled research, team, and potential value to the efforts to fight cancer”, says Sveinung Hole, Managing Partner in Sarsia Seed Management.
Notes to editors
BerGenBio AS is a biopharmaceutical research and development company. It is located in Bergen, Norway and founded on proprietary platform technology called CellSelect™. The CellSelect technology uses information from RNAi screening studies to identify novel drug targets involved in disease. BerGenBio has a deep understanding of Cancer biology and in particular the tumor micro-environment, EMT and mechanisms of drug resistance. BerGenBio AS offers technology access through a fee for service provision, discovery collaborations, as well as developing first in class therapeutics through to phase II.
Contact:
Richard Godfrey, CEO
E-mail: richard.godfrey@bergenbio.com
