Cellestia Raises 20 Million for Clinical Trial of Leukaemia Drug
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Cellestia Biotech AG, which is developing a new treatment for various cancers, raised 20 million Swiss francs to develop its drug. Co-founder and chief science officer Raj Lehal tells how Venturelab helped him commercialise his research.
Initial patient data shows Cellestia's compound, known as CB-103, behaves as expected, safely and efficiently, so the company will use the new investment to continue clinical development and develop its research pipeline.
Cellestia ranked among the country's TOP100 startups between 2016 and 2018. Venturelab asked chief scientific officer Rajwinder Lehal about the company's history.
Where did your company start and what's its relation to Venturelab?
"Cellestia is spin-off from the Swiss Institute for Experimental cancer research, EPFL. I have been supported by Venturelab even before the inception of the company through courses such as Venture Challenge."
You also took part in Venture Leaders trips to Boston (2013) and China (2018), how would you describe these roadshows?
“Venture Leaders is a one-of-its-kind program that has been instrumental in helping me reach out to potential investors and potential business partners in mainland China, Hong Kong and Asia. These contacts led to having them join our Series A, which is a great asset for our future development. The meetings and program organized by Venturelab and Swissnex China for this roadshow were just world class."
