The Munich company was able to raise more than 200 million euros from investors.
(Photo: ITM)
frankfurt In the largest private investment round in the biotech industry, ITM SE has raised €255 million. The biotech company based in Garching near Munich made the announcement on Monday. Under the management of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, Biontech investors Thomas and Andreas Strüngmann also invested in the company for the first time through their investment company Athos.
This funding round is good news not only for ITM, but also for the entire German biotech industry. Because after the corona pandemic boom, the industry is still struggling to find new capital.
The company name ITM stands for Isotope Technology Munich. Founded in 2004, the company develops and produces precision cancer therapies in which radioisotopes are combined with so-called tumor-specific target molecules, as well as suitable diagnostic methods.
Targeted radionuclide therapy is a novel approach to cancer treatment. The isotopes can precisely identify specific tumor cells and bind to the tumor’s cellular structure, causing them to break down. Treatment aims to directly irradiate the tumor while minimizing radiation exposure to normal tissue.
ITM currently has various product candidates in its portfolio that are also being investigated for difficult-to-treat diseases such as brain, lung or ovarian cancers as well as so-called neuroendocrine tumors arising from hormone-producing cells.
Speculation about ITM’s possible Nasdaq listing
On the one hand, ITM wants to invest the funds from the investment round in the further development of the portfolio. Leading the way in oncology is a product candidate called ITM 11, which is being evaluated in two late-stage clinical trials in gastrointestinal malignancies.
In addition, funds will be used to expand production. Since the company’s inception, ITM has been producing radioisotopes for pharmaceutical companies around the world and is nearing completion of a second production facility, scheduled to officially open later this month.
According to the company, it is the world’s largest producer of Lutetium-177, a radioactive element used in cancer treatment. Around 200 people will be employed there. In total ITM has around 500 employees.
The company made headlines early last year for its possible listing on Nasdaq, a U.S. technology exchange. According to research by Handelsblatt, the biotech company could have been valued at as much as $1.5 billion at the time. ITM declined to comment on possible stock market plans or company valuation when asked by Handelsblatt.
However, the company plans to open its U.S. headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition to Temasek and Athos, investors in ITM’s round include Blackrock Alternatives, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Nextech and Carbyne. The round consisted primarily of primary equity plus a minority of secondary equity.
In recent years, ITM has completed multiple rounds of larger financing. For example, in 2021 around €115 million was raised in two rounds. One of the first investors to get involved soon after the company was founded was entrepreneur Udo Johannes Vetter from the eponymous pharmaceutical supplier in Ravensburg. Vetter is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ITM.
more: Finding Funding for Biotech Companies Still Difficult