£4.3 million venture capital funding for fungal research company developing broad spectrum drugs to tackle Aspergillus fumigatus
F2G says it has finalised its first round of funding having raised £4.3m from an international syndicate of VCs.
F2G specialises in antifungal R and D targeted towards new treatments for serious human fungal infections.
It believes that the next breakthrough in antifungal therapy will be a drug with a broad spectrum of activity against fungal species, including greatly enhanced potency against Aspergillus fumigatus and one that combines major commercial opportunity with unmet medical need. The company has the expertise to develop drugs to phase II and has proprietary drug discovery technology which it will use to identify new drugs which are cidal to Aspergillus fumigatus, which F2G considers vital to achieve the needed improvements in activity against this important pathogen.
Professor Jesper Zeuthen, managing director of BankInvest Biomedical Venture, one of the top ten pan European specialist biotech investors which led the syndicate of investors, said "We are proud to invest in a company with such a strong approach to antifungal R and D. Being able to successfully close this financing round under such difficult market conditions demonstrates that F2G has a unique profile embracing innovative technology, clinical expertise and an excellent team being able to establish F2G as worldwide specialists in the discovery and development of improved drugs for systemic fungal infections".
Gordon Duncan, managing director of Dunhaw Capital, said, "We are delighted to have assisted F2G in attracting specialist institutional investors into its first venture financing round.
This represents one of the very few successful first venture round financings in the sector to have been completed in the UK this year." There is an urgent need for improved drugs to treat seriously ill patients where the market for systemic antifungals was $2.2 billion in 2000 and is forecast to rise to $4.6 billion by 2005.
To understand the future potential of the market and its structure F2G has developed and uses the MycoModel, a patient-based forecasting model.
F2G's proprietary MycoModel is currently being used by organisations wanting to gain a perspective on the future of the antifungal market.
F2G will partner with biotechnology, pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies to add significant value to its antifungal drug discovery and development processes.
This latest investment will allow F2G to continue to recruit high calibre industry specialists as part of its progress in moving from a research based to a commercial drug discovery and development based company.
