DBV Technologies, an emerging biotechnology company, announced today that it has secured $25.5 million (€19,4 million) in a Series C financing round. The round was co-led by new investors InnoBio Fund (managed by CDC Entreprises within FSI France Investment program) and Lundbeckfond Ventures. Shire plc and ALTO Invest joined the round together with existing investors Sofinnova Partners and ALK Abello. Aelios Finance advised DBV Technologies on this financing transaction. Total investment in DBV Technologies also includes other investors: Apax Partners, Cap Décisif, and Creagro.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome our new investors—InnoBio, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Shire plc and ALTO Invest—and we also are very happy that Sofinnova and ALK have invested in us once again”
DBV Technologies is the only company in the world whose products are designed to epicutaneously (via a skin patch) deliver allergens for Epicutaneous Immunotherapy (EPIT) against food allergies such as peanut and milk. Allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only strategy that treats the underlying cause of an allergic disorder. DBV's proprietary epicutaneous patch technology — VIASKIN® — involves maintaining an allergen on the intact skin of an allergic subject for repeated and prolonged periods in order to obtain clinical desensitization to the targeted allergen.
DBV Technologies is making its revolutionary treatment a convenient therapy compatible with pharmaceutical standards. It is worth noting that three new investors are specialized funds with strong ties to leading global pharmaceutical companies; InnoBio is a fund managed by CDC Entreprises and sponsored by the French state sovereign fund FSI and leading pharmaceutical companies (Sanofi Aventis, GSK, Roche, Novartis, Pfizer, Lilly, Ipsen, Takeda and Boehringer-Ingelheim); Lundbeckfond Ventures is the Lundbeck Foundation's life science investment entity under Lundbeckfond Invest (owning 70% of the shares of Lundbeck A/S); Shire is a leading global specialty biopharmaceutical company.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome our new investors—InnoBio, Lundbeckfond Ventures, Shire plc and ALTO Invest—and we also are very happy that Sofinnova and ALK have invested in us once again," said Pierre-Henri Benhamou, M.D., co-founder and CEO of DBV Technologies. "Since there are no known treatments for food allergies, many children and their families live with the constant fear of ingesting a life-threatening food. VIASKIN is designed to trigger the desired immune response while avoiding the risk of a systemic, life-threatening reaction. The Series C cash infusion will enable us to move forward with this life-saving technology."
According to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), there are 12 million food-allergic people in the U.S., and the incidence of peanut allergy has doubled over the past five years in children.
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