Ysios et al. in €11.5m series-A for Aelix

José Rojo
11 January 2016

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Barcelona-headquartered HIV vaccine developer Aelix Therapeutics has raised €11.5m from Spanish VCs Ysios Capital and Caixa Capital Risc, as well as the investment arm of corporate Johnson & Johnson.

According to Aelix, the round was led by Ysios, a Barcelona-headquartered, healthcare-focused investor. The VC drew equity from its €100m second fund, which held a €51.8m first close in December 2014 and is expected to wrap up fundraising by March 2016.

Caixa Capital Risc is another dedicated healthcare investor. Along with industrial and digital technologies, the segment is one of its three core investment areas. Deals are financed via its €17m and €35m Caixa Capital BioMed I and II funds.

Johnson & Johnson deployed capital via its investment arm and will appoint a representative to Aelix's board. Ysios general partner Karen Wagner, Caixa investment director José Antonio Mesa and the company's co-founder Jordi Naval will also become board members.

The capital will finance a number of hires by Aelix as well as research around a potential HIV vaccine. The therapy, based on a T-cell immunogen, is currently undergoing phase-2 efficacy tests among HIV patients, with plans to continue with clinical trials by Q3 2016. The vaccine is being developed with the support of Catalonian HIV research centre Hivacat, which Aelix span out of.

The investment is Ysios's first for 2016. According to unquote" data, the VC had an active Q4 2015, after leading a €36.6m series-C for Laboratoris Sanifit and a €19.4m round for Minoryx Therapeutics. As is the case with Aelix, the latter deal featured Caixa Capital Risc as co-investor.

Meanwhile, Caixa's latest biotech foray took place in mid-November 2015, when it joined forces with Kereon Partners for a €1.5m investment in Transplant Biomedicals.

Company
A spinout of HIV-focused research institute Hivacat, Aelix develops vaccines and immunotherapies against the virus. Co-founded by Christian Brander, Bonaventura Clotet, Josep Maria Gatell and Jordi Naval, the startup is headquartered in Barcelona and will undertake clinical trials for its therapies in partnership with Hivacat.

People
Ysios Capital – Karen Wagner (general partner).
Caixa Capital Risc – José Antonio Mesa (investment director).
Aelix Therapeutics – Christian Brander (co-founder, chief scientific officer); Jordi Naval (co-founder, board director).