Proto Axiom, Australian biomedical technology incubator received $15 M in Series A funding
Following its initial raise of $10 million last September, the Australian biomedical technology incubator Proto Axiom announced a second round of financing for $5 million.
According to a statement from Proto Axiom, this is the biotechnology company’s final close under the terms of its Series A financing. Notable new investors included Churchill Asset Management of Melbourne, Riverlane Capital, and Benny Kleist, the founder of Eucalyptus.
Additionally, the company disclosed that it had invested in EndoAxiom, a University of Sydney spinoff.
“Hitting our target of $15 million in such a difficult economic environment validates the emerging belief in Australia’s biotechnology sector,” said Proto Axiom’s Chief Executive Anthony Liveris.
According to the company’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Lindsay Wu, raising such capital has allowed the company to announce its first deal with EndoAxiom, which uses safe nanoparticle delivery to treat allergies and autoimmune diseases.
Prof. Victoria Cogger, Prof. David Le Couteur AO, and Dr. Nicholas Hunt founded EndoAxiom, which is creating a pre-clinical intellectual property with the University of Sydney and the Sydney Local Health District.
The college and the original academics own a portion of the business.
EndoAxiom aims to make oral insulin delivery possible for Type 1 Diabetes treatment. Type 1 Diabetes typically develops in young children and is currently irreversible, necessitating at least daily insulin injections for the rest of a child’s life.
“Having a therapy that could actually treat this disease, rather than just manage its symptoms, would revolutionize the lives of hundreds of thousands of children,” Liveris added.
The executive chairman of Proto Axiom, Tristan Edwards, expressed his delight at the prospect of working with EndoAxiom.
“The team has produced world-leading research. As well as financially investing in the company, Proto Axiom will give the team access to industry knowledge and commercialisation expertise from both Australia and overseas,” he said.
