Dutch venture capital firm Forbion Capital Partners has invested in Laboratoris Sanifit (Sanifit), a Spanish clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, as part of Sanifit’s EUR36.6 million (USD41 million) Series C financing round.
Sanifit is focused on the development of SNF472, an experimental drug for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases linked to calcification in patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) undergoing haemodialysis.
Forbion invested alongside a substantial syndicate of investors, led by Ysios Capital, and including Lundbeckfond Ventures, Gilde Healthcare, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, “la Caixa” and Baxter Healthcare. Existing shareholders also supported the series C round.
This round of fundraising will enable Sanifit to advance its lead drug candidate, SNF472, through phase IIb proof of concept for the treatment for cardiovascular diseases linked to calcification in ESRD and to complete phase II/III for calciphylaxis.
ESRD patients treated with dialysis experience higher rates of serious cardiovascular adverse events and mortality as a consequence of an accelerated progression of cardiovascular calcification. Half of the mortality in dialysis patients is from cardiovascular complications. Calciphylaxis is the most severe form of cardiovascular calcification. It is a devastating rare disease that affects up to 4 per cent of dialysis patients and has an overall mortality rate of about 80 per cent. There are approximately 2.5 million dialysis patients worldwide with no effective treatment for this medical condition. ESRD represents a market opportunity of over EUR2 billion (USD2.25 billion).
SNF472 has shown significant efficacy data in more than 20 preclinical studies. It has also shown excellent safety and tolerability in a phase Ia clinical trial in healthy volunteers. SNF472 is currently concluding a phase Ib/IIa pharmacology study in haemodialysis patients.
Sanifit has also announced the appointment of Dr Russell Greig as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Russell worked at GSK for nearly three decades, most recently as president of SR One, GSK’s Corporate Venture Group. Prior to joining SR One, he served as president of GSK’s Pharmaceuticals International and was on the corporate executive team from 2003 to 2008.
Geert-Jan Mulder (pictured) MD, General Partner at Forbion, says: “It was a pleasure to work closely together with Sanifit’s management and with this syndicate of some of Europe’s most prominent VCs, resulting in this substantial financing round in Spain. Sanifit’s SNF472 is a first-in-class drug, with a unique mechanism of action, which could potentially transform the lives of dialysis patients suffering from cardiovascular complications due to calcification.”
