The Western Development Commission has led a €2 million Series A equity investment round in Ovagen Group Limited, a biotechnology company based in Ballina, Co Mayo.
The funding is aimed at accelerating the production of Ovagen’s germ-free eggs.
Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dxs86DUa
Enterprise Ireland HBAN Boole Investments DeepIE Ventures Spark Crowdfunding
Photo credit: Michael Mc Laughlin
Ovagen Group Limited recently attended the 11th Annual Avian Model Systems Conference at the University of Plymouth, UK (11-14SEP2023). It was a wonderful four days of fantastic avian research presentations ranging from developmental biology and evolution to immunology, novel techniques, and the application of avian models in biomedical research, diagnostics, and vaccine production. The plenary discussion and the subsequent PI meeting highlighted the strength and breadth of the avian research community, and the desire to forge a closer network with an online platform and regional resource centres.
At the global meeting, Dr. Martin Murphy presented a flash talk entitled: A novel method for the production of the world’s first avian Germ Free Eggs and a poster was prepared for exhibition at the meeting. There were three poster exhibition sessions at the meeting which was a great opportunity for Ovagen to present and discuss the unique advantages of germ free eggs in eliminating contamination in vaccine manufacture and in increasing the viral yield per egg. The diverse applications of Germ Free eggs for vaccine manufacture, oncology, CDMO’s CRO’s and research applications was highlighted. Attendance by Ovagen management at future global vaccine conferences and scientific meetings is planned for 2023/2024.
Ballina, Mayo, 3rd February, 2023 – HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment, and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland, today announces that its syndicates, Irrus Investments and WxNW, have led a €1.1M oversubscribed funding round in Ovagen, the world’s first producer of germ-free eggs. Funding also came from the Western Development Commission (WDC) and an existing shareholder.
Ovagen’s groundbreaking proprietary process is a world-first and addresses a problem that sees up to 20% of egg-based vaccine batches being destroyed. Due to the significance of its product, Ovagen expects to add 65 jobs over the next five years, with revenues reaching €42M by year-end 2027.
Every year, in excess of one billion eggs are used globally as ‘bio-reactors’ to support the development of life-saving human and animal health vaccines. Viruses are injected into the eggs to propagate the virus, which vaccine manufacturers can then use to develop vaccines for diseases including the flu, yellow fever, mumps and measles. However, currently, one-in-five eggs become contaminated, leaving the vaccines they create unfit for use. It is a multi-million-euro problem for the world’s vaccine manufacturing industry.
Following seven years of research and development, Ovagen has now addressed this issue with its superior quality-verified ‘germ-free’ eggs, produced in the company’s Ballina, Co. Mayo, headquarters. The process and technology – which is protected by patents and trade secrets – ensures no bacteria can enter an egg through its porous shell after it is laid.
The latest funding brings the total amount received by Ovagen to-date to more than €19M. It will be used to carry out R&D evaluation trials on vaccine batches, to officially launch the world’s first germ-free eggs, targeting major world drug manufacturers and the appointment of key additional personnel. The company will also seek to prove that its germ-free eggs give a higher viral yield, which the founders believe can significantly reduce the large number of eggs required to produce vaccines – and with it, the costs and logistical issues of transporting those eggs.
Ovagen expects that from its site in Ballina, it will be producing four million eggs annually by 2027, with revenues reaching €42M by the end of that year. This will be supported by increasing the team to 77, up from 12, over the next five years. The company also has plans to build three additional facilities in Ballina, as well as establishing global satellite facilities close to drug manufacturing sites.
Dr. Catherine Caulfield, co-founder and CEO, Ovagen, said: “Currently, vaccines are developed using Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) eggs. While these are free of many bacteria and viruses, they are not germ-free and a significant proportion become contaminated with bacteria.
“Our funders have been instrumental in supporting us on our long journey to make a concept a reality. At critical stages in our development, our angel investors have not only provided us with their financial backing, but they have also introduced us to other potential investors, as well as their highly influential industry contacts. Their support, along with the tireless dedication of the Ovagen team, puts us in a very strong position as we prepare to go to market with the world’s first germ-free egg.”
Declan MacFadden, spokesperson for HBAN’s WxNW syndicate, said: “The Ovagen team has shown incredible perseverance in pursuit of an idea that many deemed was impossible. The global potential of the company’s technology is vast and that is why this is the second time HBAN syndicates have backed Ovagen. Our investors were also impressed by the unwavering ambition and track record of the founders, who previously sold a company for €25M, giving some early investors a 68X return on their investments.
“Angel investment is a key enabler for early-stage businesses as it helps them to leverage additional funding, while also providing them with access to industry experts who can provide strategic support and introductions to their network of contacts. Ovagen is now in prime position to launch its product and we are excited to see the impact that this groundbreaking development has in a highly lucrative global market.”
Allan Mulrooney, Interim CEO of Western Development Commission, said: “The WDC is a long-term investor of Ovagen. The company has continued to grow and innovate to create a world class, economically sustainable product. This round of Investment supported by WDC will enable Ovagen to expand their market and create up to 77 high level roles from its base in Ballina, Mayo. This investment underlines the importance of supporting innovation driven enterprises, leading the success of the existing biotechnology ecosystem in Ireland’s western region. This is a great example of a local company operating on a global scale.”
– Ends –
About Ovagen Group Ltd.
Ovagen Group Limited is an innovation-based biotechnology company, led by experienced entrepreneurs, providing specialist products to the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and vaccine industries. The company has developed a proprietary process of producing Germ Free chicken eggs in commercial quantities for use primarily in the pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical industry.
For more information, please contact:
Peg Connor (Administrative Office Manager):
About HBAN
HBAN is a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland, dedicated to the all-island promotion of business angel investment. The HBAN umbrella group supports the early-stage entrepreneurial community across the island of Ireland and actively works to increase the number of angel investors investing in early-stage companies. The all-island umbrella group works on a regional basis to support the formation of new angel networks and works with existing angel networks to develop their capability and capacity, and across a range of industry sectors. HBAN also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the wider angel investment community. HBAN is managed by Furthr in partnership with the regional Irish BICs in Cork, Galway & Waterford and with Clarendon Fund Managers in Northern Ireland. Further information is available at www.hban.org
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. The organisation works in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, Enterprise Ireland supports sustainable economic growth and regional development, and help create and sustain employment in Ireland. www.enterprise-ireland.com
About InterTradeIreland
InterTradeIreland is the only organisation which has been given responsibility by both governments to boost North South economic co-operation to the mutual benefit of Northern Ireland and Ireland. InterTradeIreland is a powerful resource for business growth, helping SMEs through a strong mix of funding, innovation supports and meaningful contacts. www.intertradeireland.com
Media Contact:
Helen Morrogh
Comit Communications
085 781 4755
*THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS POSTED ON HORIZON EUROPE WEBSITE ON DECEMBER 6TH 2022*
TO LINK TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE PLEASE CLICK HERE
Vaccine manufacturing has never been more to the forefront of the news than in recent years. With everyone acutely aware of how vital vaccines are, Irish biotech firm Ovagen Group Ltd. has good news. With the support of €3.4m in European Research and shareholder matched funding, the company has succeeded in producing a world-first product that can significantly boost the global production of vaccines.
Fertilised chicken eggs play a central role in vaccine manufacture. In fact, vaccine manufacturers use more than a billion eggs a year, with the market forecast to grow by more than 8 percent per year over the next four years.
Contamination is a major problem when it comes to using eggs, with vaccine companies typically losing millions of euro a year as a result. Contaminated batches result in delays to market for manufacturers who may miss peak epidemic or the entire vaccine season in the case of influenza.
Ovagen has developed the world’s first 100% bacteria-free eggs for use in the production of human and animal health vaccines, biotechnology applications and in cutting-edge scientific research.
“There’s a huge global opportunity for our product, which is superior to existing products on the market,” explains Ovagen co-founder and CEO Dr Catherine Caulfield. “Prior to Covid, more than one-billion eggs were required for vaccine manufacture and this figure is set to increase substantially. Ovagen’s superior-quality, germ-free eggs will set a new gold standard in the market and the biology of germ-free eggs may also allow much greater viral yield to produce certain vaccines.”
Egg-based vaccines remain vitally important
While mRNA vaccines have become increasingly topical as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, egg-based vaccines continue to have a major role to play in the battle against Covid and other diseases, says Dr Caulfield.
“As the saying goes, no one is vaccinated until everyone is vaccinated. Egg-based vaccine manufacture is well established for almost 100 years and it is a much cheaper process than other methods. We do not plan to replace mRNA or cell-based vaccines, but to give the market a third and valuable option that is inexpensive, rapidly scalable and capable of producing multiple vaccines, including Coronavirus, from germ-free eggs while benefitting from reduced contamination and increased viral yield.”
She adds that the pandemic has markedly increased the need for eggs for use in vaccine manufacture. “One manufacturer in Latin America, for example, says it will need 50 million eggs a year going forward for the manufacture of Covid vaccines. Another global vaccine manufacturer we spoke with needed two million eggs a year and now it’s six million.”
EU funding enabling germ-free egg production
In 2019 Ovagen received European funding through the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument programme. This enabled the company to move from proof of concept to having a market-ready product for customer evaluation. Ovagen has recently been awarded European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator funding of €10 million between Grant and Equity, placing the company in the top 7% of European companies who applied in the funding round. This funding will allow the company demonstrate all the benefits of germ-free eggs, scale up production and commercialise the business to serve a global market.
Dr Caulfield explains it would have been very difficult to develop the product without the Horizon funding, as the project was early-stage and high-risk.
“It took about 10 years of R&D to get us to proof of concept and we were struggling to secure sufficient funding, beyond what we had put in ourselves, to take the product to the next phase of development. This project perhaps may have failed or would certainly have taken an awful lot longer if we hadn’t received the European funding. It was instrumental.”
Ovagen expects to increase its current workforce of 12 to 75 by 2026, by which time the company plans to produce 4 million germ-free eggs annually.
“They will be highly skilled jobs across sales, marketing, business development, IT, finance, engineering, HR and scientist roles in the West of Ireland. We developed our previous company from meagre beginnings to a very successful global business [Biolabs, bought in 2002 by Charles River Laboratories] and it’s lovely to be at the stage now in Ovagen where we are building this business to be global.”
Crucial need for strict project management
Companies that succeed in securing EU funding need to track all Project-associated expenditure, achieve the pre-determined milestones and deliverables and manage the Project competently within the allocated timelines, says Dr Caulfield. “The financial audit is a really thorough audit carried out by independent auditors at the end of the Project and you need strict policies and procedures in place to deal with that.”
“It is a good idea to get advice and training, if needed, at the beginning of your project on the best way to capture the information week by week for ease of reporting and audit. It would be very difficult to catch up if you don’t keep on track with capturing the data and tracking the work packages, deliverables and finances.”
This diligence must extend to risk management, data management, and regulatory and ethical compliance where appropriate, she adds.
Avail of support to secure funding
Support from Enterprise Ireland was a critical factor in guiding the management team through the process and successfully securing Horizon 2020 funding, says Dr Caulfield. Ovagen got advice from Enterprise Ireland on every aspect of its applications, including the written proposals and pitch presentations. The company also benefitted from the support of three mentors, during the Project phase, who advised on strategy, sales and marketing, and lean principles.
“No matter how experienced you are, it’s not a simple process and it is very competitive. To get the pitch right, every word has to be impactful and you can be asked questions about any aspect by the selected jury. Enterprise Ireland sets up a mock pitch to put you through your paces beforehand by a panel of jurists. It’s absolutely invaluable and I’ve no doubt contributed in a big way to our success on both occasions.”
She adds that Ovagen also took the advice to appoint a specialist consultant in grant funding to help with its application. “While they assisted with the proposal application they were a particular help with posting our proposal on the European funding portal. It’s a complex enough system until you get familiar with it.”
If you would like advice about accessing Horizon Europe support or further details, please contact [email protected] or visit www.horizoneurope.ie
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
22nd June 2022, Ballina, Mayo, Ireland – Biotechnology company Ovagen Group Limited has again been awarded European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator funding, thanks to a €10 million funding award from the European Commission supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB), putting Ovagen in the top 7% of European companies who applied in this funding round.
The firm, which has its headquarters in Ballina in the west of Ireland, has been awarded a €2.5 million grant from the Horizon EIC Accelerator Programme, and a €7.5 million equity investment supported by the European Investment Bank.
This latest grant from the EIC follows a €2.36M EIC grant which Ovagen was awarded in 2019.
“To receive funding at this significant level is a major endorsement of the value of Ovagen’s germ free eggs to the vaccine and biopharmaceutical industry, and of our strong track record of delivery on the previous EIC Grant,” Ovagen CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Catherine Caulfield, said. “Germ free eggs have been developed and are on the market, and this funding will allow us to demonstrate all their benefits and to scale-up and commercialise the business.”
Ovagen has developed the world’s first, bacteria free (‘germ free’), eggs. Germ free eggs will be used in the production of human and animal vaccines, biotechnology applications and in cutting edge scientific research. Ovagen’s superior quality germ free eggs will set a new gold standard in the market and the biology of germ free eggs may also allow much greater viral yield to produce certain vaccines.
“The EU funding is a game changer for Ovagen,” Ovagen Chairman, Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder Dr. Leonard Moran said. “It has arrived at exactly the right time to allow us to scale up rapidly to meet customer demand with commercial production volumes.”
“This validates the 10 year’s research and development it has taken to get to this point,” Ovagen Senior Project Director Dr. Martin Murphy said. “but we now have the opportunity to impact millions of patient’s lives by supporting the production of better medicines”
ENDS
About Ovagen Group Limited. Ballina, Mayo, Ireland.
Ovagen Group Limited is an innovation-based biotechnology company, led by experienced entrepreneurs, providing specialist contract products and services to the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and vaccine industries. The company has developed a proprietary process of producing Germ Free chicken eggs and Germ Free birds in commercial quantities for use primarily in the pharmaceutical industry.
For more information, please contact:
Peg Connor (Administrative Office Manager):