Novo Holdings participates in EUR 30 million Series A financing of Bactolife, a Danish biotech company dedicated to strengthening the gut microbiome and fighting antimicrobial resistance

Novo Holdings today announced it has participated in the EUR 30 million Series A Financing of Bactolife. ATHOS led the round, with participation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Novo Holdings and other existing investors.

Bactolife is a Danish bioindustrial company developing proprietary Binding Proteins™, which strengthen the gut microbiome of humans and animals with the aim of reducing the burden of gastrointestinal infections and anti-microbial resistance.

Aleks Engel, Partner, Novo Holdings, said: “The successful Series A is another validation of Bactolife’s impressive achievements and opportunity for the future. Bactolife is a great example of the strong Danish biotech ecosystem, as its technology platform originates from a Danish University, and was then further enabled by pioneering Danish biotech companies and talents. This bodes well for the future of not only Bactolife, but the Danish biotech sector as a whole. Further, I am very pleased that the international investors share our enthusiasm for finding solutions to the global AMR crisis. Combatting antimicrobial resistance requires all hands on deck.”

Proceeds from the financing will enable Bactolife to advance its most mature projects towards commercial launch and strengthen the technology platform and upscaling capabilities. By doing so, the company aims at retaining its first mover advantage to transform human and animal health with target specific Binding Proteins™.

Sebastian Søderberg, CEO of Bactolife said: “We are very pleased and humbled by the continued confidence that investors have shown us, especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty and market turmoil. The funding allows us to increase our investments in our project pipeline, technology platform, organisation and upscaling capabilities. Further, it will enable Bactolife to accelerate our partnering efforts with world-leading companies and commercialise our first product concepts for humans and animals.”

Julian Zachmann, Investment Manager at ATHOS, stated: “Infectious diseases and increasing antimicrobial resistance are amongst the biggest threats to global health and development. We are committed to addressing this challenge and believe in Bactolife’s targeted solutions.”

Globally, there are more than 1.6 billion cases of diarrheal diseases annually which at best means stomach upsets. At worst, they can lead to life-threatening illnesses. Annual healthcare costs are increasing, and there are limited options to avoid disease manifestation in the first place. It is estimated that 760,000 children die annually from gut infections, and in those who survive, both infections later in life and growth stunts are observed. Today, most infections are treated with antibiotics that are either highly expensive or contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Bactolife takes a unique approach to gut health for the greater good of humans and animals by developing Binding Proteins™ that can reduce the risk of developing gut health infections, thereby reducing the need for antibiotics, at an affordable price point.

About Bactolife A/S
Bactolife is a Danish industrial biotech company with approx. 40 employees. Bactolife uses its proprietary Binding Protein technology to develop novel biological solutions, strengthening the gut microbiome and helping solve the daunting challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) development, as well as the general burden of infectious diseases. Its proprietary platform consists of a technology for selecting and producing Binding Proteins that acts on toxins without targeting growth or killing the bacteria directly. The company is developing and will market ingredients for Mothers & Children, Elderly, Immunodeficient, Travelers & Deployed and Animal Health. The company has proof of concept (PoC) of its technology among others from testing its most advanced animal health product, Ablacto+ that stabilizes the gut of piglets and reduce the severity of post weaning diarrhea (PWD), in more than 6,000 piglets. Bactolife is among others backed by Novo Holdings, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and now also a leading Central European life science investor.

Binding Proteins™ are milk-homologous proteins designed to bind to the toxins from gastrointestinal pathogens. Binding Proteins™ are produced in large scale using state-of-the-art biomanufacturing, making them broadly applicable as part of a normal diet. Binding Proteins™ represent a new paradigm within precision gut microbiome by bringing together state of the art protein science with an affordable, broadly applicable, food and feed product registration.
www.bactolife.com

About ATHOS
ATHOS is a Munich based single family office. ATHOS with its heritage in healthcare and life sciences invests in teams with exceptional science expertise, and technology-driven companies with an entrepreneurial and value-based approach.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees.

About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S and manages an investment portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seeds, Venture, Growth, and Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science companies at all stages of development.
As of year-end 2022, Novo Holdings had total assets of EUR 108 billion.
www.novoholdings.dk

About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Established in Denmark in 1924, the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet. The Foundation’s mission is to progress research and innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions to support a green transformation of society.
www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en