Flanders-based mRNA expert eTheRNA raises EUR 39 million

Flanders-based life sciences company eTheRNA Immunotherapies has raised EUR 39 million through a financing round led by American investment firm Novalis LifeSciences. Kenneth Chien, co-founder of the American biotech company Moderna – known for its successful mRNA COVID vaccine – and professor at Sweden’s renowned Karolinska Institute, is also investing. So are some previous investors, including Flanders’ public investment company PMV and Fund+. Furthermore, Chien and Marijn Dekkers, founder and chairman of Novalis, will be joining eTheRNA’s board of directors.

Founded as a spin-off of VUB, one of Flanders’ universities, in 2013, eTheRNA Immunotherapies specializes in mRNA technology. The company does not yet have a treatment on the market. Various clinical studies, including candidate therapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases like malaria, are currently ongoing.

Operations Director Bernard Sagaert, who is acting as the new interim CEO of eTheRNA Immunotherapies, notes that the company is also shifting its strategic focus: “We are now seeking partners for further development after an initial phase of clinical research. We are focusing on our technology platforms to help partners with their development of mRNA therapeutics. This involves technology for the production of active molecules or custom-made lipid nanoparticles.”

eTheRNA Immunotherapies is just one of the many companies that make Flanders’ business and research ecosystem for life sciences & health so successful. Want to unravel this ecosystem in a virtual yet interactive way? Head to the Flanders360 platform and discover 300+ successful companies, universities, R&D centers, incubators and other players active in Flanders’ life sciences & health industry.

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newspaper De Tijd

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