Leuven's Centre for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3) raises € 70.5 Million

The new capital is provided by KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), whose contribution is supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU initiative, as well as by the Gemma Frisius Fund (GFF). It will be used to transform groundbreaking biomedical discoveries from both biotech companies and especially academic research groups at KU Leuven and other universities, into new medicines that improve people’s lives worldwide.

CD3, founded in 2006 by the EIF and LRD, the technology transfer office of KU Leuven, initially embarked on a tech transfer experiment aimed at bridging the gap between cutting-edge biomedical research emerging from academic institutes and the pharmaceutical industry. Today, CD3 stands as a well-established, fully powered investment vehicle, offering professional drug discovery capabilities in its collaborations with academic researchers and providing funds to support and invest in spin-off companies.

Dr. Patrick Chaltin, Managing Director of CD3, expressed his excitement about the new financing, stating: "This infusion of capital enables us to build upon our past successes and continue to explore new avenues in the discovery of potential drugs to address high unmet medical needs. This confirms the trust placed in CD3 by our partners LRD and EIF, now joined by the GFF, especially during the current challenging financing climate. It is very motivating to work alongside partners who share our vision of nurturing academic research into life-saving medicines, generating substantial returns on investment, and making a profound impact on human health, including in the realm of pandemic preparedness."

“Belgium really is on the forefront of medical research, and the EIB Group has supported many players in the sector in recent years.” Said EIF Deputy Chief Executive Roger Havenith. “However, getting the right type of funding to scale up promising ideas can still be a challenge. The pandemic has shown how critical it is to get this right. We’re very happy to support CD3’s new fund, so that new treatments and cures can find their way to patients.”

“Since its inception, CD3 has developed more than 30 drug discovery projects in collaboration with KU Leuven and other academic institutions from all over Europe, which resulted in more than 20 partnerships and multiple innovative drugs in development of which several are in the clinic”, said Paul Van Dun, General Manager of LRD. “With this track record, we are delighted to continue our investment in this great model combining professional drug discovery with academics in order to stimulate technology transfer and help patients.“