BioVersys receives EUR 20 million in EU financing to support the development of new antibiotics

14.04.2021 09:00, Isabelle Mitchell

The European Investment Bank and BioVersys sign a financing agreement of up to EUR 20 million to facilitate the development of new treatments against life-threatening resistant bacterial infections. The venture debt loan is financed under the Infectious Diseases Finance Facility set up as part of Horizon 2020, the European Union’s research and innovation program for 2014-2020. BioVersys has a rich pipeline of drugs in clinical development for the treatment of tuberculosis and hospital-acquired infections, like ventilator-associated pneumonia, seen most recently in COVID-19 patients in intensive care. The company has additional preclinical assets and follow-on programs that focus on different unmet medical needs in antimicrobial resistance. BioVersys was a Venture Kick winner in 2008, a Venture Leader in 2008 and 2016, and one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups from 2011 to 2013.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and BioVersys AG, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing treatments for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, signed a EUR 20 million venture debt transaction. The financing supports the company’s research and development of a diverse pipeline of drugs that address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR has resulted in the majority of our antimicrobial therapies becoming obsolete, thereby leaving the world’s population susceptible to an ever-increasing range of infections. The possibility of a bacterial pandemic is already widely recognized as an imminent threat.

BV100, BioVersys’ breakthrough hospital antibiotic therapy, targets one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top priority pathogens, resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. The drug is being studied for the treatment of ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, which is common in COVID-19 patients. Currently, there are little to no effective and safe treatment options for this infection. Due to antibiotic resistance, infections caused by resistant Acinetobacter baumannii have a devastating mortality rate of greater than 50%. Another drug in the BioVersys pipeline is BVL-GSK098, a small molecule that is being tested for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis infections, one of the top ten killers globally, with 1.5 million deaths annually. Both BV100 and BVL-GSK098 are currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials.



“Being the first Swiss biotech company to receive a venture loan from the EIB is an independent validation of the relevance and quality of the BioVersys product pipeline. AMR has been widely recognized as the top priority health threat by the WHO, G7, and G20. BioVersys develops novel drugs addressing some of the most serious infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. The funds from the EIB, together with our recent Series B closing of CHF 19 million, enable us to push our clinical development programs forward and further strengthen the company as the leading European private biotech AMR player,” said Marc Gitzinger, CEO and founder of BioVersys. He continued: “BioVersys has recently started clinical development for two of our lead programs. The global pipeline for novel antibiotics is scaringly empty, especially when treating severe lung infections caused by highly resistant bacteria. Such infections actually often happen in intubated Covid-19 patients. However, not only during the pandemic, it is essential to have access to working antibiotics, also for many cancer treatments or surgeries, it is crucial to treat occurring infections. The product candidates that BIoVersys develops are addressing the most severe infections in hospital settings, and we are looking forward to delivering these essential drugs to patients.” 

Since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have become the cornerstone of modern medicine. Antibiotic resistance poses a severe threat to the continued efficacy of these essential drugs. Traditional industry players such as large pharmaceutical companies have left the AMR space, and it is now for specialized biotech companies like BioVersys to innovate and create novel products for these high unmet medical needs. Some 700 000 people already die each year due to drug-resistant diseases. According to the WHO, this figure could rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken.

The urgency for novel and more robust antibiotics against resistant bacteria has been further reinforced due to COVID-19. One of the most notorious resistant bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, is primarily associated with hospital-acquired infections. Bacterial co-infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality during viral infections such as COVID-19. Reports indicate that a significant number of deceased COVID-19 patients had an untreatable secondary bacterial infection due to antimicrobial resistance.

BioVersys will receive the EIB loan in three tranches upon the completion of pre-defined milestones. The transaction is backed by the Infectious Diseases Finance Facility (IDFF) set up as part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme. The IDFF is an example of successful collaboration between the European Commission and the EIB in the face of a health crisis. Through this facility, the EIB has supported European companies via total lending of more than EUR 400 million for developing cures, vaccines, and diagnostics for various infectious diseases, most prominently coronavirus. Asked why BioVersys chose a venture-debt investment, CEO Marc Gitzinger explained: “The EIB cannot take equity stakes in companies like BioVersys but offers a special conditions type of venture loan. For BioVersys this is an attractive additional financing vehicle alongside the strong equity financing support we have and the very significant grant funding that we received from the EU and the non-profit organization CARB-X.”

BioVersys was a Venture Kick winner in 2008, a Venture Leader in 2008 and 2016, and one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups from 2011 to 2013.


Sources: Press release (text) and BioVersys website (image)