Date: 2012-06-18
Type of information: Fundraising
Company: Calixar (France)
Investors: INPG Entreprise (France) - Siparex (France) - Veymont Participations (France) - regional business angels from the Health-Angels Rhône-Alpes, Savoie Angels and Grenoble Angels networks (France)
Amount: € 875,000 euros
Funding type: initial funding round
Planned used: The funds will enable the Lyon-based membrane protein services specialist to develop its international business
Others: Calixar, a start-up providing services focused on membrane proteins, has completed an initial funding round in which it raised 875,000 euros from private investors and business angels.
The funds will enable Calixar to develop its international operations and move its research programs forward. It also means the company will be able to offer its clients even more targeted services, and give a broader client base easy access to its unique technology. The technology has already been validated on a score of targets (including GPCR receptors, ionic channels, transporters, viral proteins).
Calixar provides a comprehensive range of services focused exclusively on membrane proteins (which account for over 70% of therapeutic targets), including: identification, production, extraction, purification, stabilization and crystallization. To perform these services, it starts either from biological samples or recombinant cell lines, or directly from the gene coding for the target. Thanks to its patented technology and know-how, Calixar can isolate and purify any type of membrane protein in its complete native form, which remains stable in solution. Its services are aimed at private and public research establishments interested in the development of antibodies, especially those for therapeutic applications, drug discovery (screening and drug design), and vaccines.
Now housed within the Institute of Biology and Protein Chemistry at Claude Bernard University in Lyon (a research establishment run in conjunction with France’s National Scientific Research Centre – CNRS), the company currently employs nine people and expects to generate revenues of 350,000 euros in 2012. The company expects to be generating annual revenues of 4.5 million euros by then, solely from its fee-for-service activities.
The company possesses an exclusive worldwide license for the exploitation of two patents held by the French National Scientific Research Centre (CNRS) and the University of Lyon. These relate to generic membrane protein extraction and crystallization processes utilizing original non-denaturing reagents. The aim is to make targets more immutable so the process of discovering new drugs and vaccines is rendered more reliable and more efficient.
Therapeutic area: Technology - Services
