Financing for Lipocalyx’s Innovative siRNA Delivery
September 21, 2011
The newly founded company Lipocalyx GmbH announces the start of its development activities in the field of siRNA delivery. With the conclusion of the seed funding round, High-Tech Gründerfonds and GoodVent are helping to enable the development of transfection reagents for siRNA based on innovative polymers.
“I’m excited that we are able to press ahead with the development of innovative systems for the delivery of siRNA molecules thanks to the investment from High-Tech Gründerfonds and GoodVent,” says Dr. Steffen Panzner, the company’s founder and managing director. “We see an enormous need for transfection for siRNA molecules. This field still has massive commercial potential even after ten years of intensive research. However, we can only have new solutions if we have high-performance chemistry. Our close cooperation with our chemical partner Chiroblock was a main component in the formation of our company and for choosing our Wolfen location,” says Dr. Panzner of the company’s start-up philosophy.
“We specialise in the synthesis and purification of molecules for life science research which makes us an ideal partner for Lipocalyx,” confirms Dr. Oliver Seidelmann, founder and CEO of Chiroblock GmbH. “We were so convinced by Lipocalyx’s idea that we decided to get involved.”
The team was able to get GoodVent from Magdeburg and High-Tech Gründerfonds from Bonn on board. For GoodVent’s investment manager Dr. Beate Bettecken, the team’s vast amount of experience was what tipped the scales. “Lipocalyx’s idea is backed by experienced players in the field of siRNA delivery whom we have known about for years. We were also convinced by the fact that the partnership would be with a regional SME right from the start.”
Dr. Mehran Rafigh from High-Tech-Gründerfonds comments: “I am constantly reminded in my own practical work of the need for well-functioning transfection agents. Lipocalyx GmbH caters to an attractive niche market with a large demand for innovative solutions.”
About Lipocalyx
Lipocalyx develops transfection reagents for siRNA based on innovative polymers. The focus of the application is on cell types which, until now, have been difficult to transfect, such as neuronal or immune cells. The team is expecting its initial test results in Spring 2012.
Contact:
Lipocalyx GmbH
Dr. Steffen Panzner
Managing Director & Founder
E-Mail: steffen.panzner@lipocalyx.de
About GoodVent
Since 2007, GoodVent Beteiligungsmanagement GmbH & Co. KG from Magdeburg, has administered the three regional structural funds of IBG Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH and Cedrus Private Equity Funds. Its portfolio currently includes 78 active corporate shareholdings with a committed volume of around 230 M EUR. The fund’s target volume is around 350 M EUR. The fund primarily invests in technology-oriented start up companies in the Central German region. It looks to invest in the technology fields of new materials, new energies, life sciences, microsystems technology, technical software and process engineering/mechanical engineering.
About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds invests venture capital into young promising technology companies that turn innovative concepts into viable businesses. Seed financing aims to help start-ups guide their innovation to the prototype or proof-of-concept stage or to market launch. High-Tech Gründerfonds provides seed financing of approximately €500,000. It supports high-tech companies by way of its investment managers and its highly-qualified network of coaches, investors and experts. In individual cases it can invest up to a total of €2 m per company. The investors in this public private partnership are the German Federal Ministry for Business and Technology, the KfW Banking Group as well as the six industrial groups of BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gründerfonds has an investment volume totalling approx. €272 m.
Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Mehran Rafigh
Investment Manager
Phone: +49 (228) 82 30 01 – 00
E-mail: info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
Web: www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
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