Danish biotech company Celvivo has raised $6.6 million in new funding as it accelerates the commercial expansion and development of its ClinoStar platform, while bringing industry veteran Ole Vorm into its ownership circle.
The investment, backed by existing investors EIFO and T&W Holding and new investor VOMA Holding, will fuel Celvivo’s next phase of growth as the company seeks to establish itself as a leading provider of advanced 3D cell culture technology for life-science research.
Celvivo’s ClinoStar platform is designed to produce relevant, abundant, reproducible and easy-to-use 3D cell cultures, addressing growing demand for more sophisticated models in pharmaceutical and biotech research.
The funding round brings significant life-science tools experience to Celvivo through VOMA Holding, led by Ole Vorm, co-founder of Protana, MDS Proteomics, Proxeon and Evosep. The companies developed into global players, giving Vorm extensive experience in building and scaling life-science technology businesses and navigating pharma and biotech markets.
That expertise comes as Celvivo enters a critical commercial scale-up phase.
"I’ve spent my career building tools that researchers rely on every day and I recognize in Celvivo’s ClinoStar platform the same kind of potential I’ve seen succeed elsewhere. We look forward to contributing our learnings as Celvivo grows," said Ole Vorm of VOMA Holding.
EIFO and T&W Holding, both long-standing Celvivo investors, are also increasing their commitment, each contributing $2.2 million alongside VOMA Holding.
"We’re seeing more specialized funds investing in pharmaceutical development, but only a few turn to life science tools and diagnostics. It is an area where we have taken on a central role and our investment in Celvivo is a strong example of just that. We have a clear ambition of helping foster a cluster of Danish companies working with technologies that pave the way for the research and development of the next generation of drugs and treatments," said Tonni Bülow-Nielsen, partner in the life science team at EIFO.
T&W Holding has backed Celvivo since 2020 and says it remains confident in both the company’s technology and its mission.
"We’ve supported Celvivo since 2020 because we believe in the mission and the technology. We’re pleased to continue that support in this round alongside a new partner who brings strong operating experience in this space", said Lars Nørgaard, CEO of T&W Holding.
The funding comes alongside a leadership change designed to support Celvivo’s next stage of expansion.
Jacob Philipsen has been appointed CEO, joining from Advalight, where he served as CEO and helped take the company from pre-revenue to sales in more than 50 countries. He previously served as CEO of RSP Systems and is co-founder and chairman of Norlase.
Philipsen succeeds Peter Willems-Alnøe, who led Celvivo from 2018. The company’s board credited Willems-Alnøe with pivotal contributions to building the technology and team.
"Jacob has a proven track record of taking companies from early commercial traction to a global scale, which is exactly the phase Celvivo is entering. Combined with the backing from our investors and the addition of Ole Vorm as a board observer, we now have the leadership, the capital, and an even more experienced board to help execute on that next stage of Celvivo’s journey," said Patrik Dahlen, Chairman of the Board.
The new funding follows a year of progress for Celvivo, including revenue growth and expansion of its commercial organization across direct, indirect and inside sales.
The company has also launched a new brand platform, strengthened its distributor network and seen a series of independent customer publications highlighting its technology.
Celvivo says it has simultaneously been building the processes and infrastructure needed to support a larger global operation.
The company plans to build on that momentum by expanding its work with research and industry partners while pursuing further investment to support additional growth in the coming years.
"We operate in a rapidly developing market with a large, untapped potential when it comes to the technologies presently being used. With this new investment, we have a decisive opportunity to turn our potential into reality. It’s a strong vote of confidence as we enter the next stage of Celvivo’s growth and scale-up journey," said Jacob Philipsen, CEO of Celvivo.
