Gilde Healthcare

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gilde Healthcare, a specialized healthcare investor with $1.8 billion under management, today announced that its portfolio company, LAVA Therapeutics (Nasdaq: LVTX), has successfully achieved pricing of its Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO), expected to result in gross proceeds of approximately $100 million. LVTX shares are expected to begin trading on March 25, 2021.

LAVA is a biotechnology company focused on transforming cancer treatment by developing a platform of novel bispecific antibodies engineered to selectively induce gamma-delta T cell-mediated immunity against tumor cells.

Gilde Healthcare has played an active role in LAVA’s maturation as it progressed to its IPO. Gilde Healthcare acted as the lead investor in the first institutional investment round of €16M in LAVA in 2018 and has been the only Dutch institutional shareholder to date. Additionally, Gilde Healthcare’s Operational Partner Prof. Dr. Paul Parren is Executive Vice President and Head of R&D of LAVA. Gilde Healthcare also has been instrumental in relocating LAVA´s headquarters and labs to the Utrecht Science Park, establishing a US subsidiary, hiring key management and taking part in the $83 million Series C financing together with other leading investors.

Stefan Luzi, Partner at Gilde Healthcare and Member of the LAVA Board of Directors, commented: "We are proud to have been purposefully involved in the growth of LAVA from its first institutional investment round to its NASDAQ IPO in just 3 years. LAVA represents a clear case study in how we can contribute, above and beyond providing financial resources, and will serve as a model, which we aim to replicate for other differentiated healthcare companies."

Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor with $1.8 billion under management across two fund strategies: Venture & Growth and Private Equity. The firm operates out of offices in Utrecht (The Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany) and Cambridge (United States).

Gilde Healthcare Venture & Growth invests in innovative companies active in (Bio)Pharmaceuticals, HealthTech and MedTech. The portfolio of the Venture & Growth fund is balanced with fast growing life science companies from Europe and North America.

For more information, please visit www.gildehealthcare.com.

Investor & Media Contact
Chris Maggos
LifeSci Advisors
+41 79 367 6254
chris@lifesciadvisors.com