Aarhus-based Commit Biologics has secured a €5.5 million seed financing extension from Korys, bringing its total funding to €21.5 million. This follows an earlier €16 million investment from Novo Holdings and Bioqube Ventures, announced when the company emerged from stealth last May. The Danish biotech startup, which is pioneering the activation of the complement system to combat cancer and autoimmune diseases, will use the funds to advance its Bispecific Complement Engaging (BiCE™) platform and progress towards drug candidate selection. Korys joins existing investors Novo Holdings and Bioqube Ventures, further strengthening Commit’s financial backing.
Alongside the investment, Korys’ Senior Investment Manager, Eva Van Overmeire, will join Commit’s Board of Directors. To lead the next phase of development, Commit has appointed Chief Scientific Officer Mikkel Wandahl Pedersen as Interim CEO. The funding extends Commit’s financial runway into late 2026, allowing the company to refine its modular BiCE™ technology, which leverages the body’s innate immune response to selectively target and destroy tumor and autoimmune-related cells.
Commit is developing its Bispecific Complement Engaging (BiCE™) platform, which uses single domain antibodies that bind to the complement protein C1q to activate and direct the complement system, a fast-acting and potent part of the innate immune system. BiCE is a modular system that can arm antibodies to direct the complement system in a highly targeted way to selectively kill tumor cells or cells implicated in autoimmune disease.
To execute the plan, Commit has appointed Chief Scientific Officer Mikkel Wandahl Pedersen as Interim CEO. Dr Pedersen is a seasoned R&D executive and scientific leader with over two decades of experience in immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease drug discovery and development. He joined Commit last year after previously serving as CSO of Oslo-based Nykode Therapeutics and Denmark-based Symphogen. Dr Pedersen retains his role as Commit’s CSO.
Dr Mikkel Wandahl Pedersen, Interim Chief Executive Officer, and CSO, of Commit Biologics, said: “This additional financing from Korys, a new investor, underscores the great potential of our BiCE platform to redefine the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. We welcome Eva to our Board of Directors, where her expertise will be invaluable as we work towards drug candidate selection. The additional financing further extends our cash runway into late 2026, and we remain hyper-focused on progressing our platform to the next stage of our development.”
Eva Van Overmeire, Senior Investment Manager at Korys, said: “Commit is pioneering a unique platform technology that robustly activates the complement system and easily integrates with existing antibody formats in a plug-and-play fashion. This innovative technology holds the promise of significantly improving the lives of patients battling cancer and autoimmune diseases. We are impressed with the progress already made by the Commit team since the initial seed financing and we are confident they have the expertise to drive the platform forward.”
Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/commit-biologics-raises-e5-5m-seed/
