MinervaX ApS of Denmark announced receipt on 11 October of €54 million in an upsized venture financing event to support its candidate prophylactic vaccine against the Group B streptococcus bacterium, a cause of serious illness in newborns. The financing syndicate includes new investors EQT Life Sciences and OrbiMed, with participation from nine other investment groups. It will raise MinervaX’s financial reserves to €125 million, enabling the company to start a Phase 3 trial of the vaccine for maternal immunisations in 2024. A vaccine is also under investigation for older adults.
