BIMINI Biotech raises €3M in seed round

BIMINI Biotech has recently closed a €3M seed investment round led by Torrey Pines Investment LLC, with the participation of Innovation Quarter Capital, Libertatis Ergo Holding B.V. and a business angel, to advance the preclinical development of its novel modulators of the Wiskott-Aldrich-Syndrome (WASp).

The startup founded in 2019 by Digvijay Gahtory and Maurits van den Nieuwboer and currently incubated at USI Startup Centre addresses the significant gap in therapeutics for aggressive haematological cancers, such as mantle cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukaemia. BIMINI Biotech’s technology leverages a unique mode-of-action, by targeting Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome Protein (WASp) to inhibit cancer cell growth. WASp is an actin nucleation related protein expressed exclusively in hematopoietic cells that plays an important role in hematological tumor aggressiveness.

BIMINI Biotech has a portfolio of WASp modulators developed in collaboration with prominent research centres among which the Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona, affiliated to USI. The team has obtained promising anti-cancer for different lymphoma and leukemia models both in vitro and in vivo. The new funds will be used to accelerate the preclinical development and validate safety and efficacy. Dr Mauritis van den Nieuwboer, COO and co-founder commented: 

“We have been talking to many clinicians and oncologists over these past years, and they all say the same: for aggressive leukemia and lymphoma subtypes, it is not a matter “if” patients relapse, but “when” patients relapse. As such there is still a dire need for novel therapeutic strategies. BIMINI Biotech can fill this gap. With this new investment round, we can really progress the development of our portfolio.”

For more information, check out the BIMINI Biotech website: https://biminibiotech.nl/.