JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NovellusDx, the leader in functional genomics, today announced it has completed an equity financing of $6 million. The financing round is with the participation of Helsinn Investment Fund S.A. SICAR, part of Helsinn Group, a leading cancer care company, Bio Capital Impact Fund, and Windham Venture Partners. This adds to the nearly $17 million already raised by the company.
“We are excited to invest in NovellusDx and support their aim to lead the functional genomics revolution” said Roberto De Ponti, Head of New Venture and Strategic Investment at Helsinn International Services sarl. “NGS has revolutionized cancer care and now we have the opportunity to take it one step further to functionally test the mutations found and their response to drugs. This is the true promise of personalized medicine in cancer.”
“The additional funds will allow us to accelerate the execution of our strategy, move into commercialization and enable us to meet the need for functional oncology worldwide. This funding will also support continuing development and enhancement of NovellusDx’s technology using our excellent R&D team in Jerusalem”, said Haim Gil-Ad, CEO of NovellusDx.
Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO added, “Israel is a hub for technological innovation, including in the life sciences, and NovellusDx is a premier example of that. We are excited to help bring its technology to the market and envision a deeper collaboration going forward.”
Adam Fine,Co-founder and Managing Director of Windham Venture Partners, remarked, “NovellusDx has developed a unique solution to a large unmet need in cancer by completing the ‘treatment stack’: biopsy, NGS, functional mutation testing and drug response. The technology can open up the full potential of NGS and cancer therapeutics.”
Helen Fisher, CEO and Managing Director of Bio Capital Impact Fund, said “We at Bio Capital Impact Fund are excited to join other high-caliber investors and provide active support for NovelluxDx. NovellusDx has the potential to revolutionize personalized cancer treatment and significantly improve the drug development process. By being able to stratify patients based on functional analysis of their individual genetic mutations quickly and cost-effectively, NovellusDx’s technology could reduce the cost of bringing new drugs to market and deliver better outcomes for patients.”
"As an early investor in NovellusDx, we are very pleased to welcome firms and strategic partners of the these quality" said Erez Chimovits, partner at OrbiMed. "This new coalition further validates the significant opportunities ahead for NovellusDx."
About Helsinn Investment Fund S.A., SICAR
The Helsinn
Investment Fund is focused on early-stage investments in areas of high
unmet patient need. Backed by the Helsinn Group, and guided by Helsinn’s
core values of quality, integrity and respect, Helsinn Investment Fund
aims to help companies with innovative technologies to transform new
ideas into commercial solutions with the potential to impact
health-related quality of life of patients.
Drawing on Helsinn’s over 40 years of investment into research and development and commercial expertise, the investment fund selects companies with technologies in a range of areas including cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, cancer supportive care, metabolic and gastrointestinal disorders, and dermatology conditions.
For more information, visit www.helsinninvestmentfund.com
About the Helsinn Group
Helsinn is a
privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of
marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline.
Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients,
guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The
Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and
nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development,
manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care
products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In
2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage
investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is
headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in
Switzerland, Ireland, the U.S., Monaco and China, as well as a product
presence in approximately 190 countries globally.
To learn more about Helsinn Group please visit www.helsinn.com
About Windham
Founded in 2006, Windham is a New York
City-based venture capital firm focused on healthcare, with a particular
emphasis on medical technology (devices and diagnostics) and health care
information technology (HCIT). Windham partners with entrepreneurs and
companies that are commercializing game-changing technologies to serve
unmet needs, improve the lives of large numbers of patients, and yield
robust returns for its investors.
To learn more about Windham please visit www.windhamvp.com
About BCIF
Bio Capital Impact Fund (BCIF) is an
absolute return evergreen global fund investing in innovative companies
in Health, Agricultural and Industrial bio technology sectors. BCIF aims
to create value – for its investors and for the world. BCIF is an active
investor, helping companies to successfully commercialize their
technologies by contributing not only cash but also the expertise,
experience and global networks of its team.
To learn more about BCIF please visit www.bcif.com.au
About NovellusDx
NovellusDx’s mission is to provide
functional information about mutations and their responses to drugs so
that oncologists can treat patients with precision therapies and
bio-pharmaceutical companies can develop drugs more effectively. The
NovellusDx approach is to monitor the functional effects of mutations
and observe the effects of drugs, drug combinations and drug candidates
on the activity level caused by the mutations. NovellusDx’s headquarters
and research and development operations are based in Jerusalem, Israel.
To learn more about NovellusDx please visit www.novellusdx.com