Novo Seeds Portfolio Company Galecto Biotech Raises €79 Million in Series C Financing

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, October 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

- Novo Seeds invests €12.5 million becoming largest shareholder 

- Galecto Biotech was first incubated by Novo Seeds and funded through the pre-seed grant programme of the Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2010 

Novo Seeds, the early stage investment arm of Novo Holdings, wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, today announced that its portfolio company Galecto Biotech AB (Galecto), the leading developer of galectin modulators for the treatment of severe diseases, including fibrosis and cancer, has successfully closed a €79 million series C financing round.

As part of the financing, Novo Seeds invested €12.5 million, including a convertible loan, becoming the largest shareholder in Galecto. Novo Seeds Senior Partner, Stephan Christgau will continue to serve on the Galecto Board.

Stephan Christgau, Senior Partner at Novo Seeds commented: "Novo Seeds strategy is to identify, build and invest in innovative startup companies founded on strong science, with the ultimate goal of developing products that can transform patient treatment.  As the original incubators and first  investor in Galecto, we believe that Galecto's galectin biology has the potential to open new treatment possibilities for many patients, including those with organ fibrosis and cancer.

"Galecto was first funded through the pre-seed grant programme of the Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2010, and subsequently Novo Seeds led the first seed investment round in 2011.  We are delighted to once again support this proven management team and are excited to continue working with this group of renowned investors in shaping the future of the company and building on the continued growth."

In addition to Novo Seeds, existing investors M Ventures, and Sunstone Capital also participated in the round. The Series C financing was co-led by Ysios Capital and OrbiMed. New investors Ysios Capital, OrbiMed, HBM Healthcare Investments, OrbiMed Israel, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Maverick Ventures and Seventure Partners joined the round.

"The closing of this €79 million financing is a significant milestone for Galecto as it allows us to quickly take TD139 into the phase 2/3 study, the design for which has been agreed with the FDA and MHRA. The financing will also enable clinical studies for two additional programs, which are based on galectin modulators optimised for dosing in fibrotic diseases of other organs, such as the liver and eye," said Hans Schambye, CEO of Galecto Biotech. "We welcome and thank our new and existing investors for their commitment to advancing our galectin modulator products to late-stage clinical development."

About Novo Holdings   

Novo Seeds is the early stage investment arm of Novo Holdings. Novo Holdings A/S is a Danish private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding company of the Novo Group, comprising Novo Nordisk A/S, Novozymes A/S and NNIT A/S, and manages the Foundation's assets.

In addition to being the major shareholder in the Novo Group companies, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies, takes significant ownership positions in well-established companies within life science and manages a broad portfolio of financial assets.

It is the vision of Novo Holdings to be recognized as a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value. Read more at www.novoholdings.dk.

About Galecto Biotech 

Galecto is focused on developing novel drugs for the treatment of fibrosis, inflammation, and other serious human diseases. The company's products target galectins or galactoside binding lectins, which are a group of proteins shown to be involved in many disease processes. Since its founding in 2011, Galecto's team of scientists and experts has proven that galectin-3 is an attractive drug target and that galectin-3 inhibitors are effective in reducing fibrosis in several different organs in preclinical models. Based on this research and recently completed clinical studies, Galecto's high potency galectin modulators may open new treatment possibilities for many patients. The company is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Further information can be found at www.galecto.com.