Norwegian biotech company Arxx Therapeutics will merge with Dutch pharma company Oxitope Pharma to create Calluna Pharma Inc.
The merger followed a completed Series A round of EUR 75 million, led by the European investor Forbion, and included existing Arxx investors Sarsia, p53 and Investinor. The funding will last until late 2026, and will support the company’s pipeline in fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. It will bring the company’s lead candidate, CAL101, to Phase IIa, and three more pipeline assets to the clinic.
This financing round is one of the largest for an unlisted, early stage Norwegian biotech company.”
“This financing round is one of the largest for an unlisted, early stage Norwegian biotech company. It is not just impressive by Arxx in a challenging capital market, but a milestone for Norwegian biotech,” says Sveinung Hole, Managing Partner, Sarsia, and chairman in Arxx Therapeutics.
Read more: Column: Immunology – a Pillar in Norway’s Life Science Innovation
“The Norwegian life science ecosystem has seen a substantial increase over the last two decades. We have several strongholds, and are positioned to meet many of the global future needs. Companies like Arxx build on these strengths, and by bringing their own expertise and industry know-how into the equation, create assets of high international quality. With support from Norwegian and European specialist investors, and now the merger to form Calluna, we look forward to follow the company’s development further,” says Hanne Mette Kristensen, CEO of The Life Science Cluster.
Hanne Mette Dyrlie Kristensen, CEO, The Life Science Cluster
Calluna Pharma
The new company will combine expertise in the field of innate immunity, based on damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), with a pipeline of selective antibodies that target inflammatory and fibrotic indications, including several first-in-class clinical candidates.
My focus is that all the players in the Norwegian biotech ecosystem support and learn from each other.”
“This investment and the launch of Calluna Pharma as a company registered in Norway, is a recognition of the work we have done at Arxx Therapeutics since the company was founded in 2019. We are thrilled that we are now able to develop several novel, first-in-class antibodies directed at differentiated targets to address serious inflammatory- and fibrotic diseases. It also validates the support we have had from our Norwegian investors, who believed in us from the start. My focus is that all the players in the Norwegian biotech ecosystem support and learn from each other. This is why meeting places like Forskningsparken and ShareLab where we started, and the networks you get access to through industry clusters like The Life Science Cluster, are so important,” says Jonas Hallén, Chief Medical & Development Officer in Calluna.
The company’s board of directors will include John Montana, Operating Partner (Forbion), as Chief Executive Officer, Antoine Boulanger, Principal (Forbion), Susanne Stuffers (p53), Farzad Abdi-Dezfuli General Partner (Sarsia), and Marco Boorsma, General Partner (Forbion) as Chairman. The company is raising further financing to develop its pipeline to multiple key clinical milestones over the next 2.5 years, it states.
Featured photo of Jonas Hallén, CMO and founder of Calluna (left, photo: Calluna) and Sveinung Hole, Managing Partner, Sarsia, and chairman in Arxx Therapeutics (right, photo: Melanie Burford).
