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Mitsui Global Investment backs Belgian pharma firm

  • Alvina Yuen
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Mitsui Global Investment, a subsidiary of Japan's Mitsui & Co, has participated in a Series B round worth EUR23.6 million ($31.4 million) for Belgian pharmaceutical company Promethera Biosciences.

The financing package comprises EUR17 million in equity capital and another EUR6.6 million in debt. Other investors include the venture arms of pharmaceutical industry leaders Boehringer Ingelheim and Shire, US-based life science company ATMI and Belgian venture capital fund Sambrinvest.

Promethera Biosciences is a spin-off of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). It develops innovative therapies for the treatment of liver disease and raised EUR5.3 million in its Series A round in October 2009. This enabled the company to upgrade to industrial pharmaceutical scale.

Commenting on the fundraise, Eric Halioua, CEO of Promethera Biosciences, said: "Achieving all our objectives a year ahead of plan, the quality of the team, the attractiveness of the company's business model and the proof of concept obtained in humans have been key factors in our investors' decision."

Headquartered in Tokyo, Mitsui Global invests in opportunities that have potential for growth. The company has offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai and London.

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