Denmark’s Fluxome Sciences completes €13M funding round

Funding round completed

Seventure Partners, the European venture capital firm based in Paris, France, has announced that its Danish portfolio company Fluxome Sciences A/S has successfully closed its €13 million Series B round of financing from a international syndicate of existing and new investors. The syndicate was led by Seventure Partners and included Danish venture firms Incuba Venture and Vecata Venture. The round also attracted one of Europe’s leading cleantech funds, Capricorn Cleantech Fund, managed by Capricorn Venture Partners (Belgium).

Fluxome was spun out from the research group of Professor Jens Nielsen at the Center for Process Biotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark in 2002. Its vision, according to a statement from Seventure, is to become the global leader in the development, production and marketing of nutraceutical ingredients – a group of compounds with documented health benefits – using engineered yeasts. Nutraceutical ingredients are used in dietary supplements and foods and represent a fast growing market, which in 2007 was worth an estimated $8 billion in ingredients alone. This market is expected to double before 2015.

This new financing will enable Fluxome to market its first product, resveratrol, in the USA later this year. Resveratrol is found in red grapes and in certain plant roots, and has documented anti-ageing, anticancer and cardioprotective properties. In addition, the funds will support the development of Fluxome’s pipeline, which includes omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, towards the market over the next few years.

“Fluxome Sciences is a very promising company with a strong R&D pipeline and an exciting first nutraceutical product in resveratrol, which we anticipate will reach the market before the end of 2008,” said Isabelle de Crémoux, General Partner and Head of Life Sciences team at Seventure Parters.

She added, “We have a very strong interest and relationship with the Danish life sciences community, and have active investments in Santaris Pharma and Vivostat, making Seventure the most active international investor in Danish biotech. We believe there is great science and innovation in Denmark, which combined with excellent management and high-quality R&D personnel makes it a very attractive country in which grow emerging businesses and create significant value.”

“Our capital increase enables us to continue the company’s successful growth,” said Fluxome’s CEO, Steen Andersen. “We will be developing our technology platform even further and focus on realization of our business strategy objectives. The transaction is an important step in the transformation from a technology platform structure to a product based company. I am extremely pleased with the large interest we have experienced from the global venture environment. This is a clear token of recognition towards our business and long-term strategy documented by the very promising results we have achieved so far through the efforts of our highly motivated team of employees.”