Investment Insights: Israeli microbiome firm BiomX set for €24 million capital
Seventure said €3 million of the total was invested into BiomX through its Health for Life Capital vehicle, as part of a wider global syndicate which includes corporate venture funds Takeda Ventures and Johnson and Johnson Development Corporation, Venture Investor Orbimed, Korean fund manager Mirae Asset Global Investments, and SBI, a subsidiary of Softbank of Japan, as well as European family office investors.
BiomX works on the development of novel therapeutics for human diseases linked to the microbiome. Its initial product candidates are based on bacteriophages (viruses which target and kill specific species or strains of bacteria), however the firm also uses unique technologies to identify microbiome targets for key diseases.
Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and Managing Partner of Seventure Partners and founder of Health for Life Capital, noted that the microbiome field is complex with multiple approaches having synergistic roles in healthcare.
“BiomX’s approach using bacteriophage seeks to harness natural mechanisms to restore a healthy microbiome balance to the gut,” she said – adding that investment in BiomX ‘rounds out’ its microbiome portfolio, which already includes Enterome (microbiome modulator drugs, diagnostics and companion diagnostics), LNC (drug-probiotic and nutrition microbiome-modulator products), Maat Pharma (autologous microbiome transplant), TargEDys (bacteria for regulation of appetite), Eligo Bioscience (phage-derived highly-specific antibiotics) and Vedanta (drug-probiotic).
The €24 million investment will be used for further developing therapeutic candidates and obtaining clinical proof of concept that will allow BiomX to develop further IP and position itself as a major player in developing therapeutics.
“We anticipate making additional investments from the Health for Life Capital in the coming months,” added Cremoux.
