REPAIR Impact Fund Invests $16 Million in Three Biotech Firms to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that the REPAIR Impact Fund, a fund dedicated to researching therapies for antibiotic resistance, recently invested $16 million in three biotech startups to support their research on antibiotic resistance and preventive vaccines. The three biotech companies receiving investment are Minervax, Procarta Biosystems, and Entasis Therapeutics.

Among these, the REPAIR Impact Fund invested €3.6 million in Minervax to support the company’s research into a preventive vaccine against Group B Streptococcus infection. Group B Streptococcus is a common bacterium that poses a life-threatening risk to infants.

In addition, the REPAIR Impact Fund invested €1.5 million in Procarta Biosystems. The company is developing oligonucleotide-based antimicrobial agents, a novel nanoparticle therapy targeting transcription factors of antibiotic targets, for the treatment of severe urinary tract infections and intra-abdominal infections.

Among these, the largest investment, amounting to $10 million, was directed toward Entasis Therapeutics. The company is developing treatments for infections caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, and the REPAIR Impact Fund has raised the necessary capital to support its Phase III clinical trials.

“In 2018, we received more than 100 proposals and ultimately decided to invest in these three companies,” said Aleks Engel, head of the REPAIR Impact Fund. “While awareness of the dangers of antimicrobial resistance is growing, startups focused on addressing this issue currently face a funding gap. We hope that our support for these three companies will help transform the future of therapies for antimicrobial resistance.”

It is reported that over 700,000 people worldwide die annually from antibiotic-resistant infections, a figure projected to reach 10 million per year by 2050, making the development of anti-infective drugs one of the most urgent medical challenges. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as “one of the greatest threats to global health, food security, and development today.”

Established by Novo Holdings in 2018 and headquartered in Denmark, the REPAIR Impact Fund aims to support biotechnology startups in developing therapies to combat antibiotic resistance. At its inception, the Life Science Investment Group provided $165 million in funding to the fund, with the REPAIR Impact Fund committing to invest in approximately 20 projects across the United States and Europe over a three- to five-year period.

Minervax, a biotechnology company headquartered in Denmark, was founded in 2010 and is dedicated to developing preventive vaccines against Group B Streptococcus infections.

Entasis Therapeutics is a biotechnology company based in Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2015, the company is dedicated to helping millions of patients worldwide regain their health by developing therapies for multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Procarta Biosystems, founded in 2007, is a UK-headquartered biotechnology company. The company is dedicated to developing novel oligonucleotide-based antimicrobial agents to fundamentally improve patient health outcomes and help patients worldwide combat the threat of antibiotic resistance.