Monday 22 March 2021, Oss, the Netherlands – RiboPro announced it has successfully closed a funding round of €1.2 million, led by Stichting Vlasroot, with a consortium of BOM, Rockstart and several private investors contributing to this round.
The new funding will be used to advance RiboPro’s proprietary messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, strengthen the team, and scale the business. With its high-performance RNA products RiboPro supports researchers and medicine developers worldwide in the adoption of the promising mRNA technology.
“We are excited to have such a strong consortium of investors come on-board, supporting our mission to accelerate the adoption of mRNA as ingredient in life-changing medicines, pandemic-curbing vaccines and state-of-the-art research. We envision mRNA to play a crucial role in the bio-based medical revolution that has just started and will deliver a better life for many. With this new round, we feel, more than ever, ready to play our part in that”, says Sander van Asbeck, CEO and founder of RiboPro.
“Vlasroot is privileged to help RiboPro in its mission to become a leading player in the field of mRNA products globally. The current COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccines have shown the potential of the technology where mRNA has ripped up conventional timelines to start testing within weeks. We strongly believe that mRNA will change the industry forever and it is exciting to be part of that change.” Roel Elshout from Vlasroot adds.
“RiboPro lifts mRNA to the next level, increasing the activity of mRNA while decreasing its toxicity and immunogenic response. Potential applications of RiboPro’s mRNA are numerous both in research, tissue engineering and in therapeutics. We are proud to be part of this journey, and look forward to working with the team to make RiboPro a global provider of top quality mRNA.“ says Mercedes Tuin, Senior Investment Manager, BOM.
“The early success of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines demonstrates the future potential of mRNA. Rockstart has recognized the promise of mRNA and believes that more and more researchers and pharmacists will show their interest in the technique. This heralds a new era for the application of mRNA and RiboPro can respond perfectly to this.” says Tonko Wedda, Director, Rockstart Health.
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About RiboPro
RiboPro is a knowledge-driven biotech start-up focussed on the R&D, production and sale of custom messenger RNA products to customers worldwide. Via our high-quality, high-potency RNA products, which are used as powerful research tools and therapeutics, we enable academic, biotech and pharma researchers to do better science, create more powerful medicines and develop vaccines faster than ever before. RiboPro was founded by Sander van Asbeck (CEO), Dr. Jürgen Dieker (CSO) and Dr. Roland Brock.
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About Vlasroot
Vlasroot is a group of informal investors who focus on SME’s with growth potential, a proven ‘track record’ and a strong management team. Companies that provide real solutions for real problems. We offer an experienced team with a considerable experience in both business and investing and know how to make companies grow. We help companies to raise the bar and reach targets. We believe in co-creation and offer our network and expertise to our portfolio companies.
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About the Brabant Development Agency (BOM)
The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) stands for a future-proof Brabant economy for Brabant. Our activities focus on We do this by developing, investing and internationalizing. Together with entrepreneurs from Brabant we work on sustainable food systems, vital care systems, climate-proof energy solutions and the development of promising key technologies.
In order to keep healthcare systems effective and affordable, BOM focuses on personalized treatment methods and therapeutics, digital care and applications of key technologies such as photonics, nanotechnology and robotics.
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About Rockstart
Rockstart launched in 2011 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Today, Rockstart is a global accelerator-VC who empowers purpose-driven founders on their way to success across four domains: Energy, AgriFood, Health and Emerging Technologies. Rockstart provides startups with access to capital, market, community, and expertise by connecting them to partners, investors, mentors and the wider Rockstart network.
Rockstart also creates programs that are customized to boost collaboration between startups and corporates, driving faster access to co-creation, commercial partnerships, and investment. Rockstart has experience in designing and executing programs for Maersk, Shell, Lely, and many others.
Since its inception, Rockstart has invested in more than 230 startups and its alumni value to date is €1/2bn. Rockstart is an international team of +35 professionals dedicated to empowering purpose-driven founders to become scalable and change the world for the better. Rockstart has notable exits such as Wercker, Bouw7, iClinic and in January 2021 3D Hubs. The company has offices in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Copenhagen, Denmark and Bogota, Colombia.
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About Messenger RNA
DNA is translated into mRNA which is a set of instructions to the cell to produce proteins, the building blocks of cells. By introducing mRNA, you can tell a living cell to produce proteins that can either be therapeutic or train the immune system. This is how the recently approved COVID-19 vaccines work.