Business angels and venture capital companies Stoaf III SciTech, Phase2Phase Biopharma and Partnerinvest Norr are backing Vakona with investments totaling SEK 15 million.

“We are absolutely delighted and proud to have attracted this investment. It’s a reward for many years of hard work and takes us one step closer to clinical human trials,” says Gabriella Persson, CEO of Vakona.

One step closer to clinical trials on humans

Vakona is developing a new, antibiotic-free treatment for acne. The company has worked for several years with a natural bacterial protein identified by Oleg Alexeyev’s research group at Umeå University that can be used as an effective treatment for acne, for example by application with skin cream.

“At last we can finally continue the development of our project and the production of our drug substance – and get one step closer to clinical trials on humans,” says Vakona’s Chairman Mats Strömqvist. “In addition to the capital itself, investors also contribute expertise in business development, networking and product development. This investment means a great deal to us”.

“Right now there is a huge focus on beginning production of our drug candidate in accordance with the stringent requirements the regulatory authorities place on any new drug. We are also actively working to expand the company and continue to attract additional investors to help take us all the way to clinical trials. The goal is to start recruiting patients for our first clinical study in 2023, and to carry out the study in 2024,” says Gabriella Persson.

Photo of the Vakona team