Caixa Capital Risc Leads Sale of Sanifit Therapeutics to Vifor Pharma with Upfront Payment of €205M

Caixa Capital Risc, the venture capital subsidiary of CriteriaCaixa, today announces the sale of its portfolio company Sanifit Therapeutics to Vifor Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company that aims to become an industry leader in iron deficiency, nephrology and cardio-renal therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vifor Pharma will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares in Sanifit; receiving full global rights for its lead compound, SNF472. Shareholders of Sanifit will receive an upfront payment of €205M ($231M), clinical, regulatory and market access milestones for up to €170M ($192M) and tiered sales-based milestones that could reach mid to high triple-digit million euros at peak sales, which makes it, to date, the largest operation of its kind in the Spanish biotechnology sector.

A spin-off of the University of the Balearic Islands, Sanifit is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for vascular calcification disorders. It develops SNF472, a novel, first-in-class inhibitor of vascular calcification, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of Calcific Uremic Arteriolopathy (CUA) and Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) in patients with end-stage kidney disease. Since its creation in 2004, Sanifit has raised a total of €115M ($129.7M). Caixa Capital Risc, which is the only investor that has participated in all the financing rounds, led the most recent of these in 2019, for a total of €55.2M ($62.2M).

Since becoming an investor in 2006, Caixa Capital Risc has invested more than €23M ($25.9M) in Sanifit. It is the only non-founding investor to have remained directly involved thoughout the complete development cycle of the company. Caixa Capital Risc is fully involved and actively advises the management team.

“This major, successful operation is the perfect example of what we want to achieve at Caixa Capital Risc. We stand by our portfolio companies from the beginning until they reach their full value and help fulfill major unmet medical needs,” said Pablo Cironi, director of life sciences investments at Caixa Capital Risk and board member at Sanifit.

“We are extremely thankful for the tireless support from Caixa Capital Risc, which has been critical for the success of this project. Over 15 years, we shared the vision of bringing our therapy for vascular calcification to patients suffering from these devastating diseases, and we are thrilled that we will be joining forces with Vifor Pharma, one of the key players in the cardio-renal arena, to complete the last stages of development and bring SNF472 to patients,” said Joan Perelló, CEO at Sanifit.

Within the biotechnology sector, Caixa Capital Risc is one of the main venture capital investors in Spain, with more than fifteen years of experience. In 2021, the team reviewed more than 250 new opportunities in Europe. With the recently launched Criteria Bio Ventures fund, Caixa Capital Risc will continue to invest in Spanish and international startups that develop disruptive therapeutic approaches addressing clear unmet medical needs. The fund focuses on oncology, neurology, orphan diseases, autoimmune and metabolic disorders, cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases.

Since 2018, the fund has been actively working on renewing its portfolio. During this time, it has divested some of its most mature assets, including the sale of STAT Diagnostica to Qiagen and of Northern Biologics to Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca.

Closing of the transaction with Vifor Pharma is contingent on customary closing conditions, including the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) procedure in Spain and merger filings in certain other countries. It is expected to take place in Q1, 2022.