Further funding for German firm

Berlin-based biopharmaceutical company Noxxon Pharma has completed a €9.3m (US$9m) internal financing round led by specialist life sciences venture capital company Merlin Biosciences. The funds will support Noxxon's growth until the end of next year. As part of this growth strategy the company recently moved to new, purpose-built facilities in the BerlinBiotechPark.

Noxxon is developing a new generation of biopharmaceuticals based on its patented Spiegelmer technology. Spiegelmers are a new class of substances that bind tightly and specifically to biological targets. They are chemically synthesised, mirror-inverted nucleic acids whose structural properties ensure high stability in the body as they are neither recognised by the immune system nor degraded by nucleuses. In July Noxxon's first drug candidate moved into pre-clinical development and the first Spiegelmer is expected to undergo clinical testing by the end of next year.