10 Aug 2018 07:00
Arix Bioscience Plc - Artios completes £65m Series B investment roundArix Bioscience Plc - Artios completes £65m Series B investment round
PR Newswire
London, August 10
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE EU MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO.596/2014
Arix Bioscience plc
Artios completes £65m Series B investment round
Arix interest increased to £15.3 million ($19.7 million1), becoming largest shareholder in Artios
Supporting proven management team in accelerating development of next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) pipeline
LONDON, 10 August, 2018: Arix Bioscience plc (“Arix”, LSE: ARIX) a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation, today announces that its Group Business Artios Pharma Limited (“Artios”), a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company developing innovative treatments for cancer, has completed an oversubscribed £65 million ($84 million1) Series B financing (the “Financing”) following strong interest from investors.
As part of the Financing, Arix:
Committed to invest £8 million ($10.3 million[1]) over two tranches;
Completed its remaining £1.5 million ($1.9 million1) Series A commitment; and
Invested a further £0.6 million ($0.8 million1) by purchasing a stake from an existing shareholder.
Following this investment, Arix becomes the largest shareholder in Artios, retaining a 12.4% stake on a fully diluted basis. Arix’s Jonathan Tobin will continue to serve on the Artios Board.
The financing recognised a 26% uplift in the book value of Arix’s Series A investment in Artios, with Arix’s total interest in Artios increasing to £15.3 million from £5.1 million.
The new funds will enable Artios to advance its portfolio of first-in-class, small molecule DDR programmes, including its lead programme targeting DNA polymerase theta (Pol?), through clinical proof of concept trials.
New global institutional investors Andera Partners, Life Sciences Partners, Pfizer Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund joined the Series B round. In addition to Arix, Artios’ existing shareholders SV Health Investors, M Ventures, IP Group plc and AbbVie Ventures also participated in the round.
Joe Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Arix Bioscience plc, commented: “Artios is actively developing a pipeline of highly promising, first-in-class DDR therapies which have the potential to bring real impact to cancer patients. We are delighted to support this proven management team, which during their tenure at KuDOS (successfully sold to AstraZeneca) played a key role in the discovery and early development of olaparib, the first approved DDR therapy and PARP inhibitor, now used to treat ovarian and breast cancer, creating a billion dollar market. As early investors in Artios, we are excited to continue working with the team and this group of renowned investors to build a world leading DDR company and create significant value for both patients and investors.”
Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Artios added: “Arix is focused on supporting innovation and creating and building world class companies. They were instrumental in putting together this stellar investor syndicate and we value their continued support as we progress the development of our novel DDR programmes.”
ENDS
Enquiries
For more information on Arix, please contact:
Arix Bioscience plc
Charlotte Parry, Head of Investor Relations
+44 (0)20 7290 1072
charlotte@arixbioscience.com
Optimum Strategic Communications
Mary Clark, Supriya Mathur, Hollie Vile
+44 203 714 1787
optimum.arix@optimumcomms.com
Burns McClellan (US Media & IR Enquiries)
Lisa Burns, John Grimaldi, Bill Slattery Jr., Nancie Steinberg
+1 212-213-0006
arix@burnsmc.com
About Arix Bioscience plc
Arix Bioscience plc is a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation. Headquartered in London and with an office in New York, Arix Bioscience sources, finances and builds world class healthcare and life science businesses addressing medical innovation at all stages of development. Operations are supported by privileged access to breakthrough academic science and strategic relationships with leading research accelerators and global pharmaceutical companies.
Arix Bioscience plc is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.arixbioscience.com
About Artios Pharma Limited
Artios is a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company focused on developing first-in-class treatments for cancer. The Company, founded by SV Health Investors in 2016, is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with proven expertise in DDR drug discovery. It has a unique partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and collaborations with leading DNA repair researchers worldwide, such as the National Centre for Biomolecular Research at Masaryk University. Artios is building a pipeline of next-generation DDR programmes to target hard to treat cancers. Backed by blue chip investors including: Arix Bioscience plc - the largest shareholder in Artios, SV Health Investors, M Ventures, IP Group plc, AbbVie Ventures, Andera Partners (formerly EdRIP), LSP (Life Science Partners), Pfizer Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund (NVF). Artios is based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK. www.artiospharma.com
[1] At exchange rate on 9 August 2018