BioVersys has become the first Swiss company to receive investment from the European Investment Bank. The two have signed a financing agreement of up to €20 million to facilitate the development of new treatments against life-threatening resistant bacterial infections.
BioVersys AG is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing treatments for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections for which there is a major medical need. Some 700 000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases, and according to the WHO, this figure could rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken. The urgency for novel and more robust antibiotics against resistant bacteria has been further reinforced due to COVID-19. One of the most notorious resistant bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, is primarily associated with hospital-acquired infections.
BV100, BioVersys’ breakthrough hospital antibiotic therapy targeting resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, is currently being studied for the treatment of ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, which is common in COVID-19 patients. Another candidate in BioVersys’ pipeline is BVL-GSK098, a small molecule being tested for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis infections, one of the top ten killers globally, with 1.5 million deaths annually. Both BV100 and BVL-GSK098 are currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials.
The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) investment supports BioVersys' research and development of a diverse pipeline of drugs that address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). BioVersys will receive the EIB loan in three tranches upon the completion of pre-defined milestones. The transaction is backed by the Infectious Diseases Finance Facility (IDFF) set up as part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme. The IDFF is an example of successful collaboration between the European Commission and the EIB in the face of a health crisis. Through this facility, the EIB has supported European companies via total lending of more than €400 million for developing cures, vaccines and diagnostics for various infectious diseases, most prominently coronavirus.
“Being the first Swiss biotech company to receive a venture loan from the EIB is an independent validation of the relevance and quality of the BioVersys product pipeline. AMR has been widely recognised as the top priority health threat by the WHO, G7 and G20. BioVersys develops novel drugs addressing some of the most serious infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. The funds from the EIB, together with our recent Series B closing of CHF 19 million, enable us to push our clinical development programmes forward and further strengthen the company as the leading European private biotech AMR player,” said Marc Gitzinger, CEO and founder of BioVersys.
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's bank. It is the long-term lending institution of the European Union and is the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. The European Investment Bank works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy. The investment in BioVersys was made possible by InnovFin - EU Finance for Innovators, a joint initiative with the European Commission.
(Press release)
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