Thuja et al. invest €6m in Cristal

Chemelot is a new investor in the company, while Thuja and BioGeneration are existing backers.

The three firms were joined in the round by Nedermaas Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on technology investments in the Limburg region; Utrecht University Holding; and national innovation fund Beheer Innovatiefonds Provincie Limburg.

Cristal will use the fresh capital to launch the first clinical study of its CriPec docetaxel therapy, an anti-cancer nanomedicine. The study is set to start in early 2015.

In conjunction with the capital injection, Cristal co-founder Joost Holthuis – also the founder and former CEO of Dutch biotech OctoPlus – has been named the new CEO of the company. The company's other founder, Cristianne Rijcken, has stepped down as CEO and become chief scientific officer.

Previous funding
Cristal first received funding in June 2012, receiving seed financing from Thuja and BioGeneration, with the former investing via its Thuja Capital Healthcare Seed Fund. They were joined in the round by Utrecht University Holding.

The Dutch biotech then received further funding in May 2013 from Thuja, BioGeneration and the two new backers Nedermaas and Beheer.

Company
Cristal was founded in 2011 as a spinout from the Department of Pharmaceutics at Utrecht University. The company is a developer of therapeutics for cancer and other diseases such as chronic inflammatory disorders.

Its CriPec docetaxel therapy is a nanomedicine designed for the treatment of cancerous tumours.

The company is based in Maastricht.

People
Joost Holthuis is the new CEO of Cristal; he is also a venture partner at BioGeneration. Thuja partner Michel Briejer and BioGeneration managing partner Edward van Wezel both sit on the company's board of directors.

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• Benelux
• Early-stage
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