In the middle of the summer Abera Bioscience, that has been listed on Spotlight Stock Market since 2021, pulled off a capitalization on their own, via a share issue of SEK 21.5 million, largely supported by existing investors. The money will finance GMP manufacturing and a Phase I study of Aberas nasal, pneumococcal vaccine. Through Abera we contacted the U.S.-based lead investor Gunnar Sachs for a short interview.
You invested in Abera two years ago for the first time. What led you to invest originally, and what were your reasons for investing this time?
When we initially invested in Abera, we were enticed by the science and the asymmetry of the return potential. We engaged a consultant in the US who reviewed the science and after that conversation we felt the company was undervalued. For the follow on offering, we were quite explicit about the milestones required for us to invest again. We wanted the company to continue to pursue funding through grants, which is non-dilutive. We wanted the company to explore other disease cases through their platform approach to vaccines. And we wanted them to be “cost conscious” in how they would eventually manufacture these vaccines. Maria and the team have exceeded those expectations. Since our first investment they have secured an additional SEK 40 million in non-dilutive funding. They showed the platform’s viability with a potential blockbuster candidate in influenza. And they have validated a cost-effective method of manufacturing the vaccines. So we were happy to lead this round. We are particularly encouraged by the early results in Influenza, which we think adds additional value to the case.
In your view, what role will Abera play in shaping the future of the vaccine industry?
There seems to be a lot of excitement around the nasal delivery of vaccines because it’s less invasive, and it’s aimed at preventing transmission, not just disease severity. This is why we think that Abera operates in one of the most exciting corners of vaccines right now. If the platform delivers, this could potentially become a must-have capability for any serious respiratory franchise—turning “mucosal” from nice-to-have into potentially becoming standard of care.
Recent transactions—the ~USD 3bn bid for Bavarian Nordic and Sanofi’s purchase of ViceBio for USD 1.15bn in upfront— these investments show rising interest in the vaccine space.
ViceBio has a technology that stabilizes viral proteins in their native shape. Showing the immune system this native shape tends to produce stronger, more targeted antibodies and also enables liquid, fridge-stable combination vaccine shots. Their lead program is an injectable RSV/hMPV combo vaccine in an exploratory Phase 1 study in older adults, and their pipeline includes preclinical candidates against avian influenza and covid. In July 2025, Sanofi announced a deal to acquire ViceBio for $1.15B upfront plus up to $450M in milestones (total up to $1.6B).
Abera builds vaccine particles from bacterial outer-membrane vesicles and “decorates” them with many antigens, which is well-suited for mucosal delivery. The lead candidate is a nasal pneumococcal vaccine (Ab-01.12) planned to enter Phase 1 during 2026. Their preclinical pipeline also includes influenza, COVID-19, chlamydia and Tuberculosis.
Do you have a price target for Abera?
We do not set price targets. As mentioned before, we see a rare asymmetric return opportunity at the current market capitalization. We feel that the downside is limited due to platform patents and IP protection, and feel the upside is very substantial if the technology is proven. Having said that, the future is not without risk, but in our opinion the potential reward more than justifies that risk for us.
Do you expect more international interest in Abera?
Outside of Sweden, the non-strategic investors that we have spoken to agree with our thesis and have taken a position in the company already. As for institutional investors outside of Sweden they have indicated that they would require Phase 1 results in order to consider sizable investment in the company.
Do you see Abera as a potential acquisition target for larger pharma companies, and if so, what might trigger that interest?
Yes, if we get positive Phase I results this could potentially be a massive inflection point.
More about Abera Bioscience
Abera Bioscience on Spotlight Stock Market
Read more about Abera’s science and business in a series of articles (in Swedish):
Nästa pandemi – varför vaccinet måste vara snabbare än viruset
Pneumokocker och vaccin – en kamp mot en mångfacetterad bakterie
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