Press Release
Stockholm, May 7, 2007
Industrifonden, Investor Growth Capital and Earlybird invest in Swedish biotech company Sidec Technologies
Sidec Technologies AB has closed a SEK 68.5 million round of funding led by Earlybird Venture Capital. Investor Growth Capital joined together with the existing major investor Industrifonden. The injection of new capital will enable Sidec to go ahead with its planned market expansion, mainly in Europe and the USA.
Sidec, a Swedish biotech company, has developed a unique technology - Protein Tomography™ - that visualizes cellular events in 3-D, at the molecular level. Sidec's mission is to radically reduce atrition rates in drug discovery and development by providing crucial structural information of proteins in their natural environment.
Sidec, which was founded in 2000, is a spin-off from research at the Karolinska Institutet. Industrifonden has been an investor in Sidec since 2003. This is the German venture capital firm Earlybird's and Investor Growth Capital's first investment in the company.
"We are very pleased that we have attracted two such well known and prominent investors as Earlybird and Investor," says Hedvig Andersén, investment manager at Industrifonden. "We are convinced that Sidec's technology has considerable potential on the market. Now, with the financing put in place, the company will be able to demonstrate it."
This is the first investment in a Swedish company by Earlybird.
"Sidec's protein tomography provides unique information for medical research and meets a long-felt need on the market," explains Marion Jung, principal at Earlybird Venture Capital.
Investor Growth Capital also has great confidence in Sidec:
"This unique, Swedish technical know-how has already aroused interest on the market," says Jakob Lindberg, investment manager at Investor Growth Capital. "We are looking forward to playing a part in the development of Sidec into a successful Swedish biotech enterprise."
Sidec, which has recently noted a strong order intake, will use the new capital to finance in-ternational market expansion and market penetration.
"We are pleased to welcome our new shareholders, says Hans Johansson, President of Sidec. Their global networks and industrial expertise will make a valuable contribution to Sidec's further commercial development.
About Sidec Technologies:
Sidec Technologies AB develops and provides its proprietary Protein Tomography™ to the pharma-ceutical industry. Protein Tomography™ visualizes cellular events in 3-D at the molecular level. Head-quarters is in Stockholm and regional offices in Europe and in the US.
www.sidec.com
For further information, please contact:
Hedvig Andersén, Industrifonden,
tel +46 (708) 28 82 20