Sanifit, having put Spain's biotech scene on the map, lands $231M Vifor buyout ahead of phase 3 data

The poster child of the Spanish biotech scene has secured its exit. Having twice smashed the Spanish biotech financing record in recent years, Sanifit has now accepted a 205 million euro ($231 million) buyout bid from Vifor Pharma.

Sanifit helped put the nascent Spanish biotech scene on the map in 2015 when it raised a record 36.6 million euro series C round from backers including its compatriots Ysios Capital and Caixa Capital Risc. The financing served as a launchpad for Sanifit, which raised a further 55.2 million euros and posted phase 2b data in 2019; it also catalyzed the broader Spanish biotech sector, which has since seen other startups such as Ona Therapeutics emerge and Ysios raise 216 million euros to place new bets.