Sunstone et al. sell Galecto for $444m

Novo Seeds and MS Ventures are also substantial investors in the company.

Under the deal terms, BMS can wholly acquire Galecto within 60 days of its main product – a pulmonary fibrosis treatment – completing its phase-1b medical trial.

Total payments may potentially reach as much as $444m, which would include the option fee, an option exercise fee, and milestone payments based on clinical and regulatory events.

Previous funding
Novo Seeds, MS Ventures – the corporate venture arm of Merck – Sunstone Capital and Seed Capital first invested in Galecto in May 2012.

The investors provided a SEK 40m capital injection in October 2013, with a further SEK 40m being supplied by the Wallenberg Foundation a month later.

Company
Founded in Lund in 2011, Galecto is a pharmaceutical company developing TD139, an inhaled treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease.

The company expects first clinical testing in patients to begin in early 2015.

People
Søren Lemonius is a partner in Sunstone's life sciences division. Carsten Schou at Seed Capital worked on the initial investment. Francis Cuss is the executive vice president and chief scientific officer of BMS, while Hans Schambye is the CEO of Galecto.

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• Unq2015Jan