Leukocare AG, a biotechnology company specialized in the field of biopharmaceutical formulation development, announced the closing of a USD 17.5 million (EUR 14.6 million) financing, led by Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management, with participation from existing Leukocare shareholders. The financing consists of a USD 15 million convertible loan and a USD 2.5 million equity investment from Petrichor. Proceeds will be used to accelerate Leukocare’s US expansion activities, bolster the Company’s market-leading expertise in the fields of viral vector and vaccine formulation, as well as the emerging field of mRNA formulation, and to expand the Company’s suite of bioinformatics capabilities.

Michael Scholl, Chief Executive Officer at Leukocare, said, “We are thrilled about the completion of this financing round. Our vast expertise in formulation development of biopharmaceuticals and viral vectors in combination with innovative bioinformatics puts us at the forefront of drug product development in these fields. This funding enables us to expedite our growth plans which encompass enhancing our bioinformatics capabilities as well as growing Leukocare´s market presence in the US. I would like to thank our new investor Petrichor and our existing shareholders for their continuous support and trust.”

Following the financing, Tadd Wessel, Founder and Managing Partner at Petrichor, will join Leukocare’s Supervisory Board. Mr. Wessel brings more than 20 years of experience in healthcare finance and, prior to founding Petrichor, served as a Managing Director at OrbiMed Advisors, where he led the build-out of the healthcare special situations and structured finance business.

Tadd Wessel added: “Leukocare’s market-leading expertise in formulation development for complex and innovative products, particularly those in increasingly important fields such as viral vectors and mRNA therapeutics, combined with their in-house expertise in artificial intelligence and biostatistics, makes them an unparalleled innovator in this rapidly growing biopharma subsector. We believe our partnership will help Leukocare accelerate into their next stage of growth, both here in the US and beyond.”

Georg Dönges, Chief Financial Officer at Leukocare, commented: “This unique form of financing and the partnership qualities that Petrichor provides are ideally suited to support Leukocare at our current development stage, and will enable us to rapidly pursue our multifaceted growth initiatives.”

In January 2021, Leukocare started its US operations with the opening of development laboratories and offices in Milford, Massachusetts. This strategic step gave Leukocare the opportunity to collaborate even more closely with US-based customers and partners in the field of drug product formulation development for biopharmaceuticals and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP).

The Company’s in-house bioinformatics team enables the development of superior formulations in less time, by leveraging best-in-class biostatistics with deep learning algorithms. Together, these allow coverage of a broader design space, providing precisely tailored solutions from a wider range of options. Further investments in machine learning and enlarging the database will strengthen Leukocare´s approach to substitute high-throughput screening with in silico experiments, ultimately amplifying the formulation scientist’s field of knowledge.