Rodos BioTarget Receives Start-up Financing by High-Tech Gruenderfonds and hannover innovations fonds

Novel platform technology for Targeted Drug Delivery set to enable successful treatment of various infectious diseases and cancers. Rodos BioTarget GmbH [RBT] successfully closed a start-up financing round with High-Tech Gruenderfonds and hannover innovation fonds [hif].

In order to address various chronic infectious diseases and incurable cancers, RBT has developed an innovative and patented nanocarrier technology [the“TargoSphere”] that enables targeted delivery of active agents to the antigen-presenting cells of the immune system.

Antigen-presenting cells are known to be responsible for coordinating critical immune defense responses to infectious pathogens as well as to cancer cells. Certain disease entities, as for example chronic infections with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C Virus, maintain persistent infectious reservoirs within antigen-presenting cells that cannot be eliminated by any known state-of-the-art treatments. Additionally, malignant neoplastic cells are capable of employing various biologic mechanisms which lead to a failure of the antigen-presenting cells to initiate recognition and destruction of the cancers.

RBT’s research and development mission is to re-establish an effective immune response against various infectious agents and cancer cells. To this end, the company’s “TargoSphere” selectively recognizes specific cellular surface structures on the antigen-presenting cells and delivers active agents intracellularly to these crucial immune cells. RBT’s principal development objective at this time is to destroy intracellular reservoirs of HIV and Hepatitis C infections, as well as to provoke an effective immune response to various malignancies, such as hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal adenocarcinoma.

In parallel to these activities, RBT has engaged in a germinal cooperative project with a long-established pharmaceutical company to develop applications of its nanotargeting technology in other areas of disease.

Dr. Marcus Furch, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, states: “As an emerging biotech company, we are very pleased to have reached a financing round with outstanding partners in these economically turbulent times. We believe this has placed us in a position to validate our platform technology on the preclinical level, as well as to achieve additional value-increasing steps for RBT.”

Dr. Robert Gieseler, Chief Scientific Officer, points to future directions: “With regard to the ‘TargoSphere’ technology, we anticipate a clear benefit for science collaborators and partners in the pharmaceutical industries. Developing novel approaches for addressing unresolved problems in the battles against infectious diseases and certain cancers is now within reach. In addition, we expect the ‘TargoSphere’ to let us improve the efficacy of delivery and clinical response to a host of pharmaceutical agents and compounds currently available for a wide range of clinical entities.“

“We want to contribute to further evaluate this promising technology and hereby to prepare the ground for new and much-needed therapy options. In doing so, we are happy to have a highly experienced and complementary team of founders and managers.“, Dr. Caroline Fichtner, Investment Manager with High-Tech Gruenderfonds, and Dr. Bert Brinkhaus, Managing Director of EnjoyVenture in charge of hannover innovation fonds, comment on their reasons to invest into RBT.

RBT’s patented technology and Proof of Concept was originally developed under the direction of the Let There Be Hope Medical Research Institute in the USA. In 2008, this technology and responsibility for its clinical development and marketing was transferred to the Founders of Rodos BioTarget, GmbH: Drs. Michael Scolaro, M.D., Robert Gieseler, Ph.D., Jörg Ruppert, Ph.D., and Marcus Furch. Ph.D. The team of founders and its prestigious Board of Scientific Consultants combines many years of international experience in medicine, science, R&D, management, industry, and venture-capital financing.

RBT will devote the start-up investments of its founders, the High-Tech Gruenderfonds, and hannover innovation fonds to bring its technology to completion of pre-clinical animal trials in its first year, and early clinical trials in humans in its second year.

Contact:
Rodos BioTarget GmbH
Medical Park Hannover
Feodor-Lynen-Str. 23
D-30625 Hannover
Germany
www.biotargeting.eu

Dr. Marcus Furch (CEO)
Dr. Robert Gieseler (CSO)
T +49 (511) 1054-0339
F +49 (511) 214-7076
info@biotargeting.eu

About Rodos BioTarget GmbH
Rodos BioTarget GmbH has developed and patented a novel pathway towards immune reconstitution and disease control.

By employing a cell-targeted nanocarrier – the “TargoSphere” – potent bioactive agents are channeled into intracellular pathways of cells that are known to be the principal directors of the antigen-specific immune response, thus enabling a restoration of immune competence in a variety of disease states and interventions aimed against various infectious diseases and cancers. RBT’s initial development milestones are directed at achieving preclinical proof of concept in animals and early human clinical trials in infections with the human immunodeficiency and hepatitis C viruses as well as hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Additionally, as a result of having developed an effective nanocarrier targeting technology directed at antigen-presenting cells, RBT will collaborate with partners in the pharmaceutical industry to achieve improved vaccine responses to various other cancers and infections.

Finally, in partnering with established pharmaceutical enterprises, RBT’s broad application platform shall be applied to life-cycle management as well as to improving the efficacy of existing treatments for a variety of disease entities, thereby broadening its overall marketing potential.

For additional information, please see our website: www.biotargeting.eu

About hannover innovation fonds / EnjoyVenture
The hannover innovation fonds is a regional seed fund, initiated by the Department of Business Development of the City and Region of Hannover. The fund invests into promising early-stage technology ventures in the fields of automotive/optical technologies, ICT, life science/healthcare, and energy. The hif is managed by EnjoyVenture.

EnjoyVenture is a fund manager led by entrepreneurs, which offers seed and start-up funding for innovative technology ventures. Its investments focus on areas of selected IT/software solutions, nano-/microsystems technologies, production- and automation technology, medical technology, as well as telecommunications. EnjoyVenture has particular expertise in structuring and funding spin-offs from companies and scientific-technical institutions.

Active coaching, intensive networking, and management support are part of EnjoyVenture‘s self-image as an industrial advisor and investor. EnjoyVenture‘s partners provide many years of expertise in management, financing, and industry as well as their corresponding networks. Since its foundation in January 2000, EnjoyVenture participated in 21 ventures. Currently, EnjoyVenture manages four venture capital funds with a total volume of approx. 40 million EUR.

Contact:
EnjoyVenture Management GmbH
Office Dusseldorf:
GAP 15
Graf-Adolf-Platz 15
D-40213 Düsseldorf
T +49 (0211) 239-551 70
F +49 (0211) 239-551 77

Office Gelsenkirchen (main address):
Zeche Holland
Ückendorfer Strasse 237e
D-45886 Gelsenkirchen
T +49 (0209) 95-185 00
F +49 (0209) 957-185 07

Office Hannover
Technologie-Centrum Hannover (TCH)
Vahrenwalder Straße 7
D-30165 Hannover
T +49 (0511) 300 333-22
F +49 (0511) 300 333-99
office@EnjoyVenture.de
www.EnjoyVenture.de

About High-Tech Gruenderfonds
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests venture capital in young, high-opportunity technology companies implementing promising research results in an entrepreneurial manner. The start-up companies are planned to lead their R&D projects to the production of a prototype or a “proof of concept” or market launch by means of seed financing of up to 500k EUR. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has a fund volume of around 272m EUR. Investors of the public-private partnership are the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, the KfW Bank Group as well as six industrial groups, i.e., BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler and Carl Zeiss.

Contact:
Dr. Caroline Fichtner
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2
D-53175 Bonn
Germany
T +49 (228) 965-68500
F +49 (228) 965-68550
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de