Topas Therapeutics Extends its Series A to EUR 18 Million (USD 21 Million) with Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund

• Corporate venture fund invests EUR 4 million (USD 5 million) into Topas
• Financing to accelerate clinical trials in autoimmune diseases
• Detlev Mennerich, Ph.D., Investment Manager of BIVF, to join Topas’ Board ofDirectors

Topas Therapeutics GmbH (Topas), a Hamburg, Germany-based private platform company leveraging the natural tolerance induction capabilities of the liver, today announced that the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) will join the Company’s syndicate of strategic and financial investors which was established through a Series A financing round in 2016. BIVF will provide Topas with EUR 4 million (USD 5 million) to accelerate the Company’s preparation and execution of clinical trials for autoimmune programs derived from its platform. Additionally, the Company announced that Detlev Mennerich, Ph.D., Investment Manager at BIVF, will join the Topas Supervisory Board.

With this capital increase, Topas has raised a total of EUR 18 million (USD 21 million). Epidarex Capital (Lead), Gimv, EMBL Ventures and Evotec previously invested EUR 14 million (USD 16.5 million) in the Company.

Timm Jessen, CEO of Topas Therapeutics, said: “We are delighted to have the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund as a new investor and to welcome Detlev Mennerich to the Board. BIVF has a great track record of successfully investing in biotech companies as a strategic, long-term investor. Their investment in Topas is a strong validation of our approach and we greatly value their support.”

Detlev Mennerich, Ph.D., Investment Manager at BIVF, added: “We are impressed by the science, the team and the investor base Topas has gathered so far. I am pleased to join the Supervisory Board and to support the clinical translation of the pioneering pre-clinical discoveries made by Topas. The unique, liver-based approach has the potential to become a game changer in various autoimmune conditions with known disease antigens.”