Officially launched in June 2019, CellmAbs is one of the official spin-offs recognized by NOVA and has already raised a significant first round of investment that will allow it to develop a new class of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The entire investment has now been acknowledged by Portugal Ventures.
"Recognition of the work done by the companies in which we invest is extremely important, as it shows that we continue to believe in their businesses and encourages the rest of the portfolio to achieve their goals," said Rui Ferreira, President of Portugal Ventures, in announcing the awards. "For us, it is also a thank you for choosing us as an investment partner who is present in good times and bad, and who believes in the success of these start-ups daily".
In total, Portugal Ventures, the venture capital company of the Banco Português de Fomento Group, awarded 11 prizes to the start-ups in its investment portfolio that stood out during 2023 - two of which went to NOVA University Lisbon spin-off CellmAbs.
In addition to the 2023 Revelation Start-up Award, for being the company that stood out the most in the portfolio of each business unit during the year, CellmAbs also received the 2023 Health Technologies Start-up Award - which recognizes its positioning and development from a global market perspective, taking into account the product, its internal capabilities, progress towards the market and the attraction of partners and investors.
To determine the winners of this edition - which you can read in full here - Portugal Ventures relied on the collaboration of a group of personalities who work every day in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: António Grilo, from the National Innovation Agency; Luís Guerreiro, from IAPMEI; Pedro Silveira, from AICEP; Carlos Abade, from Turismo de Portugal; Manuel Caldeira Cabral, from Startup Portugal; Conceição Zagalo, from the Corporate Citizenship Reflection and Support Group (GRACE); Cristina Campos, investor; Marcelo Lebre, from Remote; Isabel Neves, investor; and Vanda Jesus, from iCapital.