Algenex’s latest financing will allow the Spanish biotech to ramp up its Baculovirus manufacturing technology, which could provide a cheaper and faster platform for producing vaccine antigens.
On Tuesday Algenex S.L. raised €7.4 million ($8.8 million) in a series C round led by MasterLux with participation from Columbus Life Science Fund II, a fund managed by Columbus Venture Partners, and other undisclosed private investors.
Algenex is developing its CrisBio technology, a manufacturing platform that uses Baculovirus vectors to express proteins, such as vaccine antigens, in insect cells.
According to the company, CrisBio offers a time and cost advantage compared to traditional bioreactors. It said that while a typical bioreactor manufacturing plant would require tens of millions of dollars and two or three years to set up, a CrisBio facility can be established in five months and for less than €2 million, with the potential to manufacture antigens for up to 100 million vaccine doses.
Algenex is currently pursuing partnerships with protein-based COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to add capacity to their systems, one of the primary bottlenecks for COVID-19 vaccine development and commercialization (see “Merck’s Gerberding Advocates for a Head Start”).