Vaxess Technologies, a life sciences company developing a shelf-stable MIMIX skin patch for vaccines and therapeutics, announced that it has received $12 million in additional funding. Investors included RA Capital Management, Engine Ventures, GHIC, and Mission Bio Capital. This brings Vaxess’s total equity and non-dilutive funding to more than $90 million.
Vaxess is also announcing the appointment of Rachel Sha to CEO, as Michael Schrader steps down from the position. And Sha has spent over 20 years working in life sciences including large biopharma companies like Novartis, Genzyme, and Sanofi. More recently, Sha spent a decade at Sanofi, where she served in a number of leadership roles across the organization. As VP of digital strategy, partnering, and governance at the company, Sha led negotiations and deal execution, and signed major deals that ranged hundreds to billions in deal size collaborating with big tech, startups, and payers. Plus, at Genzyme, Sha worked on biomaterials-based products at the intersection of medical devices and biologics, helping to guide strategic decisions around research and product commercialization.
Sha is joining Vaxess during a time of major growth for the company. And Vaxess has recently demonstrated feasibility of GLP-1 delivery, and partnered with leading biopharma companies in vaccines (mRNA and non-mRNA). This funding round will be used to advance GLP-1, continue in vivo work with mRNA, and expand and scale manufacturing process capabilities in support of new partnerships to deliver next generation vaccines and therapeutics.
KEY QUOTES:
“I look forward to leading the Vaxess team as we work towards applying the MIMIX patch to many next-generation therapeutics and vaccines in partnership with life science leaders. I’d also like to thank Michael for his incredible leadership at Vaxess over the last decade. What started as just an idea has evolved into a company that’s developed the most promising skin patch for drug delivery.”
– Rachel Sha
“Over the last year, Vaxess has made significant progress in demonstrating the commercial viability of its industry-leading skin patch for drug delivery, from successfully conducting its first human trials to forming new partnerships with global biopharma companies. We are thrilled to continue to back Vaxess as the company moves to expand its partnerships with leading biopharma companies, and look forward to the day when people use Vaxess’s MIMIX patches to receive a range of vaccines and therapeutics from the comfort of their homes.”
– RA Capital Management Venture Partner and Head of Infectious Diseases Mario Barro
