Toxys raises €2 million financing for global expansion of its unique animal-free chemical safety tests

Leiden, The Netherlands. March. 12, 2020 - Toxys is an innovative Dutch biotech company that develops unique animal-free laboratory tests for the safety assessment of novel medicines, chemicals, cosmetics and food. Today, Toxys announces a €2 million funding round from KIKK Capital, InnovationQuarter, Zeeland Investment fund, Toxys management and Rabobank.

This investment is being made to advance Toxys' ambition to become the global leading supplier of expert mechanistic in vitro chemical safety testing services. These services provide animal-free safety testing of novel medicines, chemicals and consumer products. The patented ToxTracker(R) assay can identify toxic and carcinogenic properties of novel pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and fine chemicals already at an early stage of drug/product development. ToxTracker can prevent the unnecessary rejections of highly valuable drug candidates and products, reduce drug/product development time lines and can prevent unnecessary animal testing. ToxTracker has the unique ability to identify the mode-of-action of toxic compounds which significantly improves the ability to predict and reduce risks for human health. ToxTracker is currently under review by the international authorities for official acceptance and inclusion of the test systems within the standard regulatory safety test strategy. Furthermore, with its soon-to-be launched novel ReproTracker(R) test, Toxys aims to fill a large unmet need for an in vitro embryo toxicity test.

With this new financial investment, Toxys is enabled to accelerate the growth of the company by expanding its operations in Europe and the United States. Toxys will also further broaden its portfolio of unique in vitro toxicology assays, speed-up international growth and work in acceptance and implementation of its toxicology assays for regulatory applications.

Giel Hendriks, CEO of Toxys, commented: "We have made important progress on development of innovative animal-free tests for drug and chemical safety testing. I am very proud of the strong and dedicated Toxys team to execute our plans to become a trusted expert in toxicological research. With this new investment, we are ready to further expand our business globally and continue to work on the development of novel solutions for toxicological research".

Johan Sebregts, Investment manager KIKK Capital: "As a board member I have seen Toxys grow to a successful and profitable biotech company with a growing global client base. Now the first product of Toxys, ToxTracker, has proven itself in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry it's time for further international expansion and the market introduction of some exiting new products. KIKK Capital is looking forward to support the developments of Toxys and is convinced that with the investment Toxys will be able to realize its full international potential".

About Toxys
Toxys is a Dutch biotech company that offers a broad spectrum of innovative in vitro toxicology solutions. Toxys was founded in 2014 as a spin-off from the Leiden University Medical Center and has its state-of-the-art laboratory facilities located at the Leiden BioScience Park. We are experts in the field of genetic and developmental toxicology with a focus on Mode-of-Action. We are dedicated to bringing relevant information to our clients on potential human health hazards of novel and existing drugs, chemicals and other substances. Toxys is currently working with 7 of the Top10 global Pharma companies and several major chemical, cosmetics and food multinationals.

About KIKK Capital
KIKK Capital invests in young companies that have developed and recently launched a new product, process or service. The shareholders and fund management invest not only with capital, but also by providing knowledge, skills and network connections. All its shareholders have their own body of expertise gained from holding leading positions in national and international businesses. KIKK Capital remains actively involved in its participations and holds itself to shared responsibility for the success of every company. For more information:

About InnovationQuarter
InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for West Holland. InnovationQuarter finances innovative and fast-growing companies, assists international companies in establishing their businesses in West Holland, and facilitates (international) collaboration between innovative entrepreneurs, knowledge institutes and government. In this way, and in cooperation with the business community, InnovationQuarter supports the development of West Holland to become one of the most innovative regions in Europe.

Contact

Giel Hendriks
CEO

Media Contact

Paula van Rossum
CBO