Key Investor Signals
€350,000 convertible loan funds AVS-006 development
AviSia received a €350,000 convertible loan from Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland in September 2025 to advance its type 1 diabetes program through preclinical development.
Three feasibility experiments support AVS-006 mechanism
AviSia reports three experiments demonstrating Siglec-9 binding and dendritic-cell uptake of sialylated antigens, placing AVS-006 at early preclinical TRL 4.
Repeat biotech founder with prior Series A experience
Henk Viëtor co-founded Skyline Diagnostics and led it as CEO when Life Sciences Partners and Erasmus MC Biomedical Fund backed its 2007 Series A.
Other Positive Signals
- CSO Yvette van Kooyk received the 2019 NWO Spinoza Prize for her glyco-immunology research.
- AviSia is an Amsterdam UMC spin-off built on academic research in glycan-mediated immune tolerance.
- Peer-reviewed research from van Kooyk’s group showed sialylated antigens can induce antigen-specific immune tolerance.
Team
Henk Viëtor
COO and Co-founder
- Co-founded Drug Discovery Factory, which helped start 15 life-science companies within its first two years.
- Led Skyline Diagnostics as CEO through its 2007 Series A from Life Sciences Partners and Erasmus MC Biomedical Fund.
- Led DC4U when its glycan-based immunotherapy platform secured a €1.4M Dutch Innovation Credit.
Product
AviSia is developing AVS-006, a preclinical antigen-specific immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes. It couples proinsulin to a glycan designed to engage inhibitory immune signaling, with the aim of restoring tolerance to beta-cell antigens without broad immunosuppression.
Pairing proinsulin with a tolerance signal
AVS-006 links proinsulin, a target of the autoimmune response, to a selected glycan. The antigen identifies the response to address, while the glycan is designed to steer that response toward immune tolerance.
Testing Siglec-9 binding and cell uptake
AviSia reports three feasibility experiments demonstrating Siglec-9 receptor binding and dendritic-cell uptake of sialylated antigens. The company places the technology at early preclinical TRL 4.
One platform for multiple autoimmune targets
The same core design can pair different disease-driving antigens with inhibitory glycans, giving AviSia a route to apply antigen-specific tolerance beyond type 1 diabetes without broad immune suppression.
Market Overview
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing beta cells and requires lifelong insulin replacement. An estimated 9.5 million people were living with T1D worldwide in 2025, creating a substantial population for disease-modifying therapies that preserve beta-cell function.
The type 1 diabetes market was estimated at $13.5B in 2025, yet most current products manage glucose rather than the underlying autoimmune process. A 2025 Diabetes paper noted that no antigen-specific immunotherapy is approved for T1D, leaving a clear therapeutic gap for approaches that restore targeted immune tolerance.
Estimated number of people living with type 1 diabetes worldwide in 2025.
Estimated 2025 global market for type 1 diabetes treatments and management products.
Around 44% of people with stage 1 type 1 diabetes progress to symptomatic disease within five years.
Estimated global market for autoimmune therapies, relevant to AviSia's broader platform potential.
Comparable Outcomes
Provention Bio
Provention Bio developed teplizumab, marketed as Tzield, a CD3-directed antibody that delays progression to stage 3 type 1 diabetes by acting on the autoimmune process. Provention listed on Nasdaq in 2018. Sanofi acquired it in 2023 for $25 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $2.9B.
Pandion Therapeutics
Pandion Therapeutics developed precision immune modulators for autoimmune diseases. Its lead program, PT101, was designed to selectively expand regulatory T cells and restore immune control. Pandion listed on Nasdaq in 2020. Merck acquired it in 2021 for $60 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $1.85B.
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Sources
This profile was built from public company materials, ecosystem sources, market references, and professional profiles.