• Company co-created and funded by Novo Holdings and HealthCap

• Breakthrough asset in-licensed from Norway’s foremost tech transfer office, Inven2

• João Ribas and Jørgen Søberg Petersen from Novo Seeds will join the Board of Directors

Copenhagen, Denmark, 2 June 2021 – Novo Holdings today announces that it has founded and invested in Tribune Therapeutics (“Tribune”), a company set up to exploit a novel, pan-antifibrotic mechanism across a wide range of indications. This follows a period of company creation, with close involvement by Novo Seeds, the early-stage investment and company creation team of Novo Holdings, in collaboration with HealthCap, one of the largest specialized providers of venture capital within life sciences in Europe.

Founded in 2020 and recently having in-licensed an asset from Inven2, one of the largest technology transfer offices in the Nordic region, Tribune emerges from stealth mode as a preclinical biopharmaceutical company building a promising pipeline of novel medicines to treat patients with a wide range of fibrotic diseases.

Based on research from Håvard Attramadal’s lab at Oslo University Hospital, Tribune is developing a novel drug with a pan-antifibrotic mechanism of action targeting several fibrotic indications including diseases affecting the kidney, lung and liver.

Novo Seeds worked closely with the scientific founders, Inven2 and HealthCap to develop a commercially attractive business plan to maximise the potential of the company’s breakthrough technology.

As a result of the financing, João Ribas, Senior Associate and Jørgen Søberg Petersen, Partner at Novo Seeds; Elias Papatheodorou, CEO Genkyotex; and Jacob Gunterberg, Partner at HealthCap, will join the Board of Directors which will be led by Jonas Hansson, Partner at HealthCap and Tribune’s Executive Chairman.

João Ribas, Senior Associate at Novo Seeds, said: “As part of our mission to support entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions to improve treatment options for patients, we are delighted to be working with HealthCap to fund and fully support Tribune Therapeutics. This financing not only exemplifies Novo Seeds’ commitment as a key biotech company builder in the Nordic region, but also demonstrates our ability to synergistically collaborate with academic experts and like-minded investors to bring the latest scientific breakthroughs into promising, disruptive companies.”

Jonas Hansson, Executive Chairman of Tribune and Partner with HealthCap, said: “Tribune emerges as the result of years of academic research and is now setting out to develop novel pharmaceuticals to treat life-threatening fibrotic diseases. Combining a strong scientific foundation and a large unmet medical need with a Nordic footprint is a great match with Novo Seeds and HealthCap. Together, we are excited to support this important work.”

Jørgen Søberg Petersen, Partner at Novo Seeds, stated: “As one of the largest company creators in life sciences, Novo Seeds looks to source and incubate promising academic research projects and provide the appropriate guidance, capital and networks to entrepreneurs to build world class companies developing innovative therapies for patients. We are very pleased to support such a promising and exciting team at Tribune and we look forward to working together to maximise its potential.”

About Tribune Therapeutics
Tribune Therapeutics is a preclinical biopharmaceutical company building a promising pipeline of novel medicines to treat patients with a wide range of fibrotic diseases. Founded in 2020, the Company has in licensed an asset from Inven2, one of the largest technology transfer offices in the Nordic region. The company was created by HealthCap and Novo Seeds, the early-stage investment and company creation team of Novo Holdings.

About Fibrosis
Fibrosis is a pathogenic process that results in deposition of scar tissue and it typically occurs when tissues are subjected to chronic inflammation or insults too large for the body to spontaneously recover from. Fibrosis can occur in many tissues within the body and result in disease in multiple organs including in the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. As a whole, human fibrotic diseases constitute a major health problem worldwide due to the current absence of safe and effective treatments.