Complement Therapeutics Secures €72 Million in Series A Financing
to Advance Novel Therapies Targeting Complement-Mediated
Diseases
• Round led by Gimv, a Belgian based private equity and venture capital firm
• Round comes just 1 year after raising €5 million seed funding in February 2022
• Company aims to transform the treatment of complement mediated conditions
Munich, Germany – 17 April 2023 – Complement Therapeutics GmbH (CTx), a preclinical stage
biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics for complement mediated diseases, today
announced the completion of a €72 million Series A financing. The round was led by Gimv, a
Belgian-based private equity and venture capital fund, co-led by Forbion as existing investor and
further joined by BioGeneration Ventures (BGV), Panakès Partners, Cambridge Innovation Capital
(CIC), Hadean Ventures and Seroba Life Sciences.
With this new round of financing, CTx will continue the development and complete a Phase Ib
clinical proof of concept of its lead product CTx001. CTx001 is a highly innovative AAV gene
therapy for the treatment of Geograpic Atrophy (GA) secondary to dry age-related macular
degeneration (dry-AMD). Additionally, proceeds from this financing will be deployed to grow its
laboratory-based activities in Stevenage (UK), evaluate CTx’s pipeline assets for non-ocular
indications as well as further develop the novel Complement Precision Medicine (CPM) platform.
CTx was spun out of the University of Manchester with initial funding from BGV in 2021 and
subsequently received €5 million seed funding in February 2022 from Forbion and BGV. With that
funding, CTx has advanced CTx001 through preclinical proof-of-concept, secured an Innovation
Passport by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and initiated a
non-interventional natural history study in the UK (i-GAIN). The i-GAIN study results will help
support the clinical development planning for CTx001.
“With a potentially highly differentiated lead asset combined with a precision medicine approach,
we are excited by the opportunity to further develop CTx001 for the treatment of GA through to
the clinic.” said Dr Rafiq Hasan, CEO and Managing Director at Complement
Therapeutics GmbH. “The support of this broad syndicate enables us to generate additional
data demonstrating CTx001’s unique and differentiated mechanism of action, with the potential
to transform the treatment landscape in geographic atrophy.”
The recent FDA approval of the first intravitreal treatment for GA is a significant milestone for GA
patients and the retina community, and further validates the critical role that the complement
system plays in the development and progression of GA whilst highlighting the importance of
targeting complement as a therapeutic strategy. CTx001 gene therapy with its novel mechanism
of action has the potential to provide superior efficacy compared to competitive drugs and to
lower the burden of treatment among patients through a “one and done” approach and thereby
transforming the treatment landscape in GA.
Michaël Vlemmix, Principal in the Life Sciences platform of Gimv said: “We are proud to
have been able to build this syndicate and look forward to supporting Complement Therapeutics
in its next phase of development. The company and its team combine deep research insights,
strong industry background, and a robust understanding of complement-mediated conditions, in
particular GA secondary to AMD. These strengths, coupled with a focus on addressing the
significant unmet need in GA, positions the company to change the way the disease is addressed
and potentially achieve meaningful therapeutic impact.”
“We are delighted with the rapid progress made by Complement Therapeutics in the last 12
months. Patients impacted by complement-mediated diseases often have to cope with debilitating
symptoms throughout their lifetime and this can lead to a significant burden on them and their
families. We look forward to supporting the Company as it drives forward a pipeline of novel
assets addressing these unmet needs in complement-mediated diseases” said Dr Dmitrij
Hristodorov, Partner, Forbion.
Alongside the financing, Michaël Vlemmix (Gimv), Rob Woodman (Panakès), Anne Horgan (CIC)
and Roger Franklin (Hadean Ventures) will join the board as new members.
About Complement Therapeutics GmbH:
Complement Therapeutics GmbH (CTx) is a German headquartered early-stage biotechnology
company focused on the research and development of novel therapeutics for complementmediated diseases. The Company is a spinout from the University of Manchester and is based on
the pioneering research of its founders into novel targets within the complement cascade.
Our lead investigational product (CTx001) is being evaluated as a potential gene therapy for GA,
a leading cause of blindness. Additional programs will evaluate potential therapeutic opportunities
in other complement-mediated conditions.
The Company is also developing a unique quantification methodology, the Complement Precision
Medicine (CPM) platform, to enable the quantification of over 30 complement cascade proteins
enabling more precise diagnosis and monitoring of disease.
The Company has subsidiaries in the UK (Complement Therapeutics Ltd) and in the USA
(Complement Therapeutics Inc) as well as research laboratories in Stevenage, UK.
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For more information please visit: https://complementtx.com/
Company Contact
Dr Rafiq Hasan, CEO and Managing Director
Complement Therapeutics GmbH
Email: [email protected]