Cellevate has successfully secured EUR €3.2m in funding to facilitate the commercialisation of Cellevat3d.
The nanofibre microcarriers, designed to assist in the biomanufacturing of next-generation cell and gene therapies, are estimated to be available on the market by November 2024.
The technology, according to Cellevate, offers a surface area for cell growth of up to 60x larger than current standards, allowing biomanufacturers to enhance their product yield.
Cellevate hopes to improve the scalability and productivity of viral vector manufacture with this solution, potentially making cell and gene therapies more affordable and accessible to patients across the globe.
The single-use microcarriers mimic a human's extracellular environment, and have been proven to double viral vector production compared to market standards.
The €3.2m investment will allow Cellevate to launch the product globally, with a large proportion of the funds being allocated to the commercial team in North America to allow for fast customer onboarding and an efficient marketing strategy.
This total is combined with the first seed round of investments, which totalled at €3.4m, so the company now has a total of €6.6m in equity funding.
Mala Valroy, Investment Manager at Industrifonden, and Board member of Cellevate, commented: "We are impressed with the progress the team has made in preparing the product and company for a successful commercial launch. This investment positions the company to begin its international expansion and help customers achieve the highest yield and productivity improvements in upstream bioprocessing for gene therapies."
Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, said: “We are very pleased to participate in this second closing. Cellevate’s nanofiber-based technology, Cellevat3d, represents a groundbreaking innovation developed for biomanufacturing of next-generation therapies, including cell and gene therapies and novel vaccines. Our investment confirms the successful achievement of critical milestones of Cellevate and will help the company commercialise its technology."
