SimAbs has announced a successful capital raise of €1m ($1.06m), marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey since its inception in 2019.
The antibody expert's groundbreaking technology is centred on continuous manufacturing, offering unparalleled advantages in cost-effectiveness, accelerated time to market, and enhanced quality.
Cleanrooms and pharma working together
This funding, primarily sourced from a consortium of renowned entrepreneurs and business angels affiliated with BAN Vlaanderen, is earmarked to facilitate the next phase of the company’s growth.
One of the main investors is ABN Cleanroom Technology, a design and build business with specific expertise in modular solutions.
This fresh injection of funds will be channelled towards establishing a GMP facility, paving the way for the manufacturing of antibodies tailored for human applications. Belgium news site Made In explains that Simabs currently produces its antibodies in one of Bioville's labs, but at the beginning of 2024, ABN Cleanroom Technology will provide them with a temporary outdoor cleanroom facility in which the antibodies can be produced.
The news site also explained that the financing ABN provided was in the form of the cleanroom made to the process specifications of SimAbs, meaning SimAbs only pays for the use of the cleanroom.
The financing ABN provided was in the form of the cleanroom made to the process specifications of SimAbs
Koen Dierckx, CEO of SimAbs, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are immensely proud to have garnered the support of such a distinguished group of investors. This collaboration brings together the expertise of business angels from BAN Vlaanderen and several eminent Flemish entrepreneurs. A significant portion of this funding round was contributed by ABN Cleanroom, spearheaded by Jo Nelissen and Rosaline Wijnen. With Jo also being a recipient of the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ accolade, we are confident in the robust foundation we’ve established for SimAbs’ future endeavours.”
“Thanks to our OPEX financing model, we can provide simAbs, like other start-ups, with a state-of-the-art cGMP-certified cleanroom facility that is fully aligned with their production process,” said Rosaline Wijnen. “This performance-based approach ensures that the customer only pays for the use of a cleanroom. Moreover, the initial investment cost is also drastically reduced, which means we also give start-ups the opportunity to use our cleanrooms. By adopting a life-cycle approach, we ensure that adaptability and sustainability are fully integrated, allowing us to repossess the cleanroom or use it for other purposes in the future if necessary,” concluded Jo Nelissen of ABN Cleanroom Technology.
