Index is sole backer of pharma company spin-out

Funding

The European venture capital fund Index Ventures is investing €7.9 million in the first round funding of Versartis, a spin-out from the Californian biotech company Amunix.

Index has the option to invest an additional €3.6 million in Versatis, which has been formed as a joint venture between Amunix and Index to exploit PEGylation technology for increasing the stability of protein drugs.

Versartis will develop new therapeutic proteins using its recombinant PEGylation (rPEG) technology, with a focus on metabolic disease and endocrinology. The funds raised will be used to progress its novel compounds into human clinical trials.

“We have preclinical proof of concept for three products [...] these include exenatide and IL-1ra for diabetes, and hGH for growth hormone deficiency,” said Jeffrey Cleland, founder and CEO of Versartis. “Our results to date demonstrate the advantage of these compounds over products currently on the market or in development.”

“Versartis represents a completely novel model in biotech financing, aimed at maximising the value of an innovative platform technology that was originally pioneered by Amunix,” commented Mark De Boer, PhD, Chairman of the Board.

Roman Fleck of Index Ventures said, “As the sole financial backer of Versartis, Index Ventures is exploring new collaborative routes to generate value from scientific advances.”