Funding to advance platform and portfolio of intranasal products that protect against a broad range of respiratory viruses, including influenza and coronaviruses, to let people live their lives freely
AMSTERDAM and BOSTON - March 25, 2021 - Leyden Laboratories B.V. today announced the closing of a €40 Million Series A financing led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), with participation from F-Prime Capital, Casdin Capital, LLC and Brook Byers. Concurrent with the financing, David Schenkein, M.D., general partner at GV, and Stephen Knight, M.D., president and managing partner at F-Prime, will join the board of directors.
The world was caught off guard when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and severely constrained people's ability to live their lives to the fullest. While existing reactive efforts to control and contain viruses are crucial they are insufficient, especially as viruses evolve into new variants.
Leyden Labs' proactive approach utilizes its platform to target commonalities of viral families to protect against many viruses simultaneously as opposed to vaccines that typically protect against a specific virus variant.
"The speed of development of vaccines during the current pandemic has been impressive, but major global health and economic challenges are evident. If we can develop products that provide immediate protection against existing, mutating and new viruses, we can prevent future pandemics, fight existing ones, and help people strive for a fantastic life," said Koenraad Wiedhaup, one of the founders and CEO of Leyden Labs.
The other founders of Leyden Labs are the chief scientific officer Jaap Goudsmit and biotech entrepreneurs Ronald Brus and Dinko Valerio (executive chair). They formed the previous Crucell team that created the AdVac and PER.C6 platforms. Crucell and the platforms were acquired by Johnson & Johnson and are now at the basis of the single-shot COVID-19 vaccine.
The founding team is joined by a closely involved board of biotechnology leaders including John C. Martin, Onno van de Stolpe, James Shannon and Richard J. Whitley.
Dr. David Schenkein, general partner at GV added, "The Leyden Labs' leadership team includes world-renowned virologists and industry veterans who bring substantial relevant experience to establish and advance a powerful portfolio of intranasal products."
About Leyden Laboratories B.V.
The Company's energetic team of world-renown biotechnology veterans and fresh talent is dedicated to thinking differently to free humanity from the burden of respiratory viruses. To learn more, visit www.leydenlabs.com.
Corporate Contact: Leyden Laboratories B.V., investors@leydenlabs.com
Media Contact: Meredith Sosulski, Ph.D., LifeSci Communications, +1-929-469-3851, media@leydenlabs.com
