Jerini AG

Jerini was founded in 1994 as a spin-off from the Medical Faculty (Charité) Humboldt University Berlin to commercialize the SPOT™ technology. The evolving SPOT™ platform was marketed as fee for service projects to pharmaceutical and biotech companies (1995 to 1999). The revenues generated supported the expansion of the company and its technology development. At this stage no venture capital was raised. Due to the expanding applications of its technology platform in drug discovery and proteomics Jerini began its transformation into a drug discovery company. - To support and accelerate the drug discovery transition Jerini raised Euro 4.6 million in January 2000 in a first financing round that included local investors IBB-Bet. GmbH, bmp AG and tbg. In 2001 the company converted to an AG (joint-stock company) and closed its second, private financing round raising Euro 20 million in November 2001. The investors in this round included an international group represented by TVM, 3i, Polytechnos and Sanders Morris and Harris. - In 2000 Jerini started creating the medicinal chemistry platform PepMed™ focusing on the identification of peptide lead structures addressing difficult protein targets and their subsequent systematic transformation into drug-like molecules. - In December 2001 Jerini started its first clinical trials with Icatibant, a peptidomimetic bradykinin receptor antagonist for the indication defined as end-stage liver cirrhosis.