Stockholm-based biotech company Cellcolabs has raised $8.7 million in an oversubscribed funding round, with total funding now at $21.5 million. Investors include well-known business profiles and unicorn founders, such as Fredrik Österberg and Jens von Bahr, along with previous investors like Norrsken Launcher and Avito founders Jonas Nordlander and Filip Engelbert. The company aims to transform healthcare by producing high-quality stem cells on an industrial scale at a fraction of the current cost. The funding will be used to scale up research and development, operations, and business development efforts.
Cellcolabs was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, 2021, and originates from the pioneering stem cell research of Professor Katarina Le Blanc at the world renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Recognising the potential of Professor Le Blanc’s research, serial health entrepreneurs Per Båtelson and Maria Rankka, and impact investor Norrsken joined forces to create Cellcolabs. Together they appointed Mattias Bernow as CEO, leveraging his expertise as a medical doctor, management consultant, and healthtech entrepreneur.
Mattias Bernow, CEO of Cellcolabs, comments: “We are really pleased with the overwhelming response from investors as part of this round. Our mission is to produce high-quality stem cells on an industrial scale and for a fraction of the current cost, and it is encouraging to see such fantastic support for our work. MSCs have in multiple studies shown great potential for alleviating symptoms and even potentially curing and preventing disease. Making stem cells available and affordable for more people could be a game-changer for healthcare.”
Fredrik Österberg comments: “When it comes to investments, our focus is on companies that boast a strong business case and contribute positively to society. With the 25 years of research of Professor Le Blanc, the promising potential of MSCs for healthcare, and an exceptional team at the helm, Cellcolabs is well-positioned to revolutionise the field of stem cells and healthcare.”
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a type of stem cell with anti-inflammatory, regenerative and immunomodulatory properties, widely researched globally for decades. They can promote the healing of damaged tissue and regulate immune responses to reduce inflammation – an underlying cause of many diseases. The anti-inflammatory properties of MSCs have also brought them into focus in the field of longevity, as inflammation is considered a significant factor in the aging process.
Currently, high-quality MSCs are scarce and prohibitively expensive. Cellcolabs seeks to change this by slashing prices by up to 90% within the next decade through large-scale production. MSCs used in Cellcolabs’ product development and clinical research activities are produced at its laboratory in Stockholm from the bone marrow of healthy volunteer donors. By making high-quality MSCs available at scale for research and future patients, Cellcolabs’ hope is to develop products that will cure, alleviate and prevent a wide variety of medical conditions.
As part of its goal to accelerate the development of stem cell research and treatments, Cellcolabs sponsors and supports clinical trials in the Bahamas through its subsidiary, Cellcolabs Clinical. These trials assess the use of MSCs focused on the prevention of cardiovascular disease and in individuals experiencing musculoskeletal injuries. The treatment is carried out either through a local injection or systemic infusion.
Every trial is approved by local Ethics Committees and Regulatory Authorities and compliant with Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP), the international ethical and scientific quality standard for designing, recording and reporting trials in humans.
Cellcolabs also supplies stem cells to external research projects and initiatives. This includes collaborations with world-renowned university hospitals and biotechnology companies.
