A piece of news
The company raised €234,310 from 115 investors through the Crowdcube platform, which is shaping up as the funding alternative in biotechnology
Bioinformatics firm Mind the Byte, located in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and specializing in drug-design cloud services, has just closed the largest ever round of crowdfunding (crowdequity) investment in the biotechnology sector in Spain.
They have raised €234,310 euros over the 43 days of the campaign, receiving capital from 115 private investors. The average investment was €2,000 and the largest, €80,000. The funds raised through the Crowdcube platform were more than double the goal the company set when it launched the campaign (234%).
“This success opens doors for us to expand and grow the company,” says Mind the Byte founder and CEO Alfons Nonell-Canals. The company’s next goal will be to market its SaaS platform internationally, which cuts drug development time and costs by up to 30%.
“Crowdcube investors firmly believe in this type of company and in how important their business is to society today,” explains Managing Director of Crowdcube Spain Pepe Borrell, who sees Mind the Byte as the beginning of alternative funding for biotech companies.
The platform, created in the United Kingdom, is a large network of investors that allows any individual to invest alongside professionals, business angels, venture capital funds, and public institutions. They are awaiting approval from the CNMV in Spain as a participative funding platform.
The new Mind the Byte capital increase comes after the €200,000 round of funding the company closed in late 2014, which was led by InKemia IUCT Group, and the opening of their new branch in the Copenhagen Bio Science Park.
From left to right, Oriol Sans, ACCIÓ; Jordi Alberch, Research, Innovation and Transfer at the UB; Alfons Nonell-Canals, CEO of Mind the Byte; Albert Garcia-Pujadas, member of Mind the Byte; and Pepe Borell, CEO of Crowdcube at the launch of the campaign on 15 September - Photo: © Mind the Byte.
