PE Deals

+ND Capital exits CellPoint, via sale to Belgian biotech company Galapagos

“This deal is further validation of our strategy to invest in company creation in Europe," said Patrick Aebischer, Senior Partner at +ND Capital.

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  • +ND Capital was the sole venture investor in CellPoint
  • The deal represents +ND Capital’s second exit after the sale of Arctos Medical to Novartis
  • The deal is an all-cash acquisition with an upfront payment and further milestone payments

+ND Capital has exited Dutch cell therapy company CellPoint. Belgian biotech company Galapagos NV has acquired CellPoint for $131 million (€125 million) upfront and up to $105 million (€100 million) in milestone payments. +ND Capital was the sole venture investor in CellPoint and the sale represents its second exit after the sale of Arctos Medial to Novartis.

+ND Capital was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Woodside, California. It invests in technologies across life, physical, and data sciences. It is currently investing out of its fourth venture investment fund (Fund IV) and its first opportunity (Growth) fund.

“This deal is further validation of our strategy to invest in company creation in Europe,” said Patrick Aebischer, Senior Partner at +ND Capital. “I’m convinced that plenty of European innovation remains untapped and ripe for our team’s unique talent in identifying and building up successful companies.” Aebischer was previously president of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Lausanne, and founder of +ND Capital’s European operations.

Dani Bach, partner at +ND Capital and board member of CellPoint said. “This is our second exit in Europe, and both are good examples of +ND Capital’s company creation efforts in Switzerland and Europe.”

The deal has the potential to accelerate the development, commercialization and scale-up of CellPoint’s CAR-T delivery model at point-of-care. Current cell therapy treatments present some challenges, including cost, manufacturing times, and toxicity issues.

Tol Trimborn, co-founder and CEO of CellPoint, said. “We could not have reached today’s milestone without the commitment and management expertise of our sole investor, +ND Capital. Despite the progress with current CAR-T therapies, long lead times, highly manual central manufacturing, and complex logistics remain the limiting factors for large-scale capacity and broad patient access. We are excited to become part of Galapagos to realize the potential of our innovative CAR-T delivery model.”