Profos AG raises EUR 5 million
The Profos AG formed at the beginning of 2000 through the University of Regensburg is a biotech company engaged in the development of products for the capture and detection of bacteria and bacterial components (endotoxins) based on advanced, proprietary phage-ligand technology. The leading-edge technology has two main areas of immediate application for which product ranges are being rolled-out: Food Safety (Pathogen) Testing and Biopharmaceutical Endotoxin Detection and Removal. In addition, the Company’s patented technology offers future opportunities in certain clinical therapeutic processes and food preservation.
The Food Safety Testing applications of the technology enable fast and reliable test procedures e.g. the testing of meat, seafood, milk or cheese for pathogenic (disease causing) organisms such as Salmonella and Listeria which are major causes of food poisoning. In the area of Endotoxins, the technology is applied in the detection and removal of these organic compounds. Endotoxins are important in medicine and pharmacology as they are the major cause of sepsis in humans. The removal of these contaminants from the processes involved in developing and producing biopharmaceutical drugs is essential for the major pharmaceutical companies. With the product for endotoxin removal Profos addresses the needs of leading manufacturers of biopharmaceutical drugs. There are also significant needs in the research area and universities, research institutes and biotech companies for use in experiments which are highly sensitive to endotoxin contamination.
Profos will use the capital raised to complete the existing product portfolios (including corresponding approvals) and to advance commercialisation activities through further enhancement of sales and marketing functions. BioFund acted as the lead investor with legal counsel provided by Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner (Munich); financial advisers were PriceWaterhouseCoopers (Munich) and in IPR matters Höiberg A/S (Copenhagen). Bio Fund Management Ltd. (Helsinki, Finland) is a European venture capital management companies investing solely in the Life Sciences. Danisco Venture A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark) invests in companies with high value-added products, services or technology platforms relevant to the food and feed industry as well as industrial biotechnology. Capital Stage AG (Hamburg, Germany) is a publicly listed Venture Capital company and was the first main investor for Profos AG in 2001.
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