In its first round of financing, Hedera-22 has raised more than €1 million to accelerate the development of its activity towards the discovery and production of new biomolecules. The round was led by Globachem, an international, family-owned agrochemical company.
Founded in 2015, Hedera-22 is a spin-off company of ULiège (University of Liège) which provides tailored bioinformatic services both in the health care sector and for biotechnology industries. Beyond these services and in close collaboration with ULiège, Hedera-22 is developing an innovative strategy, combining environmental microbiology and bioinformatics, to accelerate and improve the discovery of new biomolecules useful for human medicine and the agro-industry.
A first proof of concept leading to the production of thaxtomin, a promising bioherbicide, prompted the Limburg-based company Globachem to take an interest in this technology, to the point of becoming today a key shareholder in the company.
This first round of financing, closed successfully with the additional support of Noshaq, Belfius and a technology transfer from ULiège, will allow the company to set up its laboratories at Sart-Tilman, acquire cutting-edge equipment and consolidate the team to accelerate the discovery and commercialization of new biomolecules with pharma and agro applications.
Koen Quaghebeur, CEO of Globachem, commented: “With investing in Hedera-22 we see our dream come through to develop our own new molecules. Globachem wants to be a worldwide keyplayer in the crop protection business. Therefore we invest in innovative projects that can make a real difference. That this can be done with a Belgian startup makes it even more attractive. The project is however much broader. Hedera-22 will not only produce new molecules for the whole agro sector but also for the pharmaceutical sector. We believe that this kind of companies is certainly necessary in these fast changing times.”
Gaëtan Servais, CEO of Noshaq, said: “We are pleased to support the development of Hedera-22 who aims at providing solutions to major societal challenges. The interest of Globachem demonstrates the opportunities offered by the disruptive technology powered by this spin-off for the agrochemical sector and hope to gather soon new partners from the pharmaceutical sector where the application fields are wide.”
