Business angels have invested RUB 155 million in vaccine development

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Vaccine-developing biotech company RBT (BioTechnology Developments) of the Institute of Human Stem Cells group (HSCI, MOEX: ISKJ), raised RUB 155 million during its private offering on the Rounds investment platform.

RBT planned to attract 50 to 160 million rubles. The offering was at the top of the price range, with oversubscription. The book of orders from investors wishing to take part in the company’s first investment round reached more than RUB 251 million. As investors rushed to complete transactions and receive Skolkovo’s benefits, only a part of the orders were satisfied. 860 investors became the company’s shareholders. With the opportunity to receive a benefit from the Skolkovo Foundation (reimbursement of up to 50% of the investment amount), 59 people invested RUB 110 million in RBT.

According to Igor Krasilnikov, RBT’s director, “The offering was successful thanks to HSCI’s ecosystem and Skolkovo’s support for investors. This is a good example showing that Russian investors are interested in biotech. And biotech is able to attract investment in the venture capital market for its development. We plan to use the investments to expand RBT’s development portfolio.”

Vladimir Yegorov, Operations Director of the Skolkovo Foundation Biomedical Technologies Cluster: “HSCI is an official partner of the Skolkovo Foundation developing a number of promising projects in the field of high-tech medicine, such as gene therapy, cell technologies and vaccines, at the Innovation Center. Thanks to our cooperation, we can expand and improve support mechanisms for innovative companies. RBT’s offering was the first experience in raising funds using an investment platform with an option to receive compensation through our program later on. RBT already has a good portfolio of products at various stages of readiness, and their vaccine development platform has significant potential for its expansion.”

RBT is a resident of Skolkovo and the Moscow Center for Innovative Technologies in Healthcare Technopark (Medtech). Together with HSCI, RBT is developing a platform for the development of antiviral vaccines based on surface recombinant proteins and spherical adjuvant particles. Previously, this platform was used to develop coronavirus vaccine Betuvax-Cov-2 and influenza vaccine TetraFluBET, as well as a pentavalent combination vaccine against influenza and coronavirus developed jointly with the Nacimbio pharmaceutical holding. RBT’s technology platform is aimed at making vaccines less reactogenic and minimizing their side effects, while maintaining the “protective” properties of vaccines, such as immunogenicity, at a high level. The company’s portfolio also includes a human papillomavirus vaccine.