Karolinska Development divests its stake Athera Biotechnologies

Karolinska Development (STO: KDEV) said today that it is divesting its entire shareholding in the drug development company Athera Biotechnologies to a consortium led by The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen) and Industrifonden.

This further focuses Karolinska Development's portfolio in line with its strategy to become a leading Nordic venture capital company focused on generating value for patients and shareholders. Recently, it divested its entire stakes in Pharmanest and of XSpray Microparticles to Baltic and East European Studies and Recipharm Venture Fund, without disclosing any financial details (The Pharma Letter September 29).

Jim Van Heusden, chief executive of Karolinska Development, says: “I am very pleased to announce that we have concluded the divestment of Athera Biotechnologies to an investment consortium that will fund the further development of the company’s lead product, PC-mAb. This deal also allows us to benefit from Athera’s future success via an earn-out agreement with potential significant future value.”