Cumulative Investment of 33.6 Billion Won... "Accelerating IPO Preparation for Second Half of 2025"
Inventera, a company developing new MRI contrast agents, announced on the 30th that it has successfully raised 18.5 billion KRW in a Series C funding round. This is the fourth investment round following angel investment in 2017, a 5 billion KRW Series A in 2020, and a 10 billion KRW Series B in 2022.
New investors joining this round include Dongkuk Life Science, Dongkuk Pharmaceutical, Yuanta Investment, NH Investment & Securities, and the Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium (KIMCo). Additionally, Medytox Venture Investment, Woori Venture Partners, Eugene Investment & Securities, Evergreen Investment Partners, and the Chungcheongbuk-do Center for Creative Economy & Innovation made follow-up investments, demonstrating continued confidence in Inventera’s growth potential.
Of particular note is the investor Korea Innovative Medicines Consortium (KIMCo). KIMCo is a non-profit foundation jointly funded by 59 domestic pharmaceutical and bio companies and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association. By passing KIMCo’s rigorous screening process and successfully securing investment, Inventera has objectively validated its technological capabilities and business viability.
Furthermore, Inventera’s lead underwriters, NH Investment & Securities and Eugene Investment & Securities, also participated in this Series C funding. Eugene Investment & Securities, a joint lead underwriter, highly evaluated Inventera’s technology and business potential and participated again following the Series B round. NH Investment & Securities, the main lead underwriter, also took part in this round, confirming its strong outlook on Inventera’s success potential as a lead underwriter.
Inventera was founded in 2018 by CEO Shin Taehyun, Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yonsei University, to develop a first-in-class contrast agent that overcomes existing limitations using high-performance MRI contrast agent core technology.
The lead pipeline, INV-002 (musculoskeletal contrast agent), has completed patient dosing for the domestic Phase 2b clinical trial (LPO, Last Patient Out). The Clinical Study Report (CSR) is currently being prepared. There were no safety issues during dosing, and efficacy (contrast enhancement effect) was confirmed in all patients, so it is expected to successfully achieve the primary endpoint. The company aims to start the domestic Phase 3 clinical trial in 2025. The second pipeline, INV-001 (lymphatic system contrast agent), is currently undergoing domestic Phase 1/2a trials, with plans to enter Phase 2b within 2025.
Inventera CEO Shin Taehyun said, "Despite the frozen capital market, Inventera’s success in raising a large-scale investment reflects the high evaluation of our core technology’s excellence, pipeline commercialization potential, and business viability in the capital market. We will do our best to ensure the birth of a first-in-class contrast agent based purely on domestic technology, along with a successful IPO."
Meanwhile, Inventera plans to use the funds raised to accelerate product approval for its leading pipeline, global expansion, and subsequent new drug research and development. Currently, Inventera is focusing its capabilities on all aspects of listing procedures, including the technology-special listing evaluation, aiming for a public listing in the second half of 2025.
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