TIDMPRTC
RNS Number : 5952W
PureTech Health PLC
02 August 2018
2 August 2018
PureTech Health plc
PureTech's Karuna Completes $42 Million Financing Round to
Advance Lead Product Candidate for the Treatment of Disorders
Marked by Psychosis and Cognitive Impairment
PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech Health"), a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines
for dysfunctions of the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG), today announced
that its affiliate, Karuna, successfully completed a $42 million
Series A financing round, including the issuance of $22 million in
shares upon conversion of debt into equity. This financing round
included ARCH Venture Partners, the Wellcome Trust, Steven Paul MD,
PureTech Health, and other undisclosed investors.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance its lead
product candidate, KarXT (Karuna-xanomeline-trospium chloride),
including the initiation of a Phase 2 trial in patients with
schizophrenia in the third quarter of 2018 and the expansion into
other therapeutic areas, including a non-opiate pain
indication.
Joep Muijrers, PhD, Chief Financial Officer at PureTech Health,
said: "The financial commitment from these high-profile investors
shows clear confidence in Karuna's approach to developing what
could be the first new mechanism in over 50 years for the treatment
of psychosis and cognitive impairment across central nervous system
(CNS) disorders. As KarXT advances into a Phase 2 trial, we believe
strongly in Karuna's unique mechanism of action and potential."
The full text announcement from Karuna is as follows:
Karuna Completes $42 Million Series A Financing Round to Advance
Selective Muscarinic Receptor Agonist Programme into Phase 2
Study
Participants include ARCH Venture Partners, Wellcome Trust,
PureTech Health, Steven Paul MD, and other undisclosed
investors
BOSTON, August 2, 2018-Karuna Pharmaceuticals, focused on
targeting muscarinic receptors for the treatment of disorders
marked by psychosis and cognitive impairment, today announced the
completion of a $42 million Series A financing round, including the
issuance of $22 million in shares upon conversion of debt into
equity. Participants included ARCH Venture Partners, the Wellcome
Trust, Steven Paul MD, PureTech Health, and other undisclosed
investors. Karuna plans to use the proceeds from the financing to
advance its lead product candidate, KarXT
(Karuna-xanomeline-trospium chloride), including the initiation of
a Phase 2 trial in patients with schizophrenia in the third quarter
of 2018 and the expansion into other therapeutic areas, including a
non-opiate pain indication.
"Karuna has all of the characteristics we look for in a
game-changing CNS company. Its lead drug candidate has a unique
mechanism of action for treating both psychosis and cognition, as
well as an exciting non-opiate application for pain. These are
therapeutic indications where there is a profound need for new
treatments. We are excited about the clinical data that have
already been generated, and we look forward to helping to drive the
next chapter of growth," said Robert Nelsen, Co-Founder and
Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners.
KarXT is designed to improve tolerability and unlock the
potential of muscarinic cholinergic receptor agonists that
selectively target M1/M4 muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the
brain while blocking their activation in tissues outside the brain.
Karuna is currently completing a second Phase 1 trial using a
proprietary co-formulation of xanomeline, a muscarinic agonist
Karuna exclusively licensed from Eli Lilly which showed compelling
efficacy in patients with schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease but
had peripheral cholinergic side effects, combined with trospium
chloride, a muscarinic antagonist that acts only in the periphery
(outside of the brain and central nervous system). The initial
Phase 1 trial demonstrated a significant and clinically meaningful
reduction in pre-specified cholinergic side effects with KarXT
compared to xanomeline alone. The Phase 2 trial in patients with
schizophrenia is designed to replicate and expand on previous
efficacy and safety data with xanomeline in schizophrenia and
Alzheimer's disease.
"We greatly appreciate the support of our investors and their
confidence in the potential of KarXT to be the first new and highly
differentiated medicine in over 50 years for the treatment of
psychosis and cognitive impairment in psychiatric and neurological
disorders," said Andrew Miller, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Karuna. "We believe KarXT could be a promising new
treatment that safely and effectively addresses the debilitating
positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of patients living with
schizophrenia and other central nervous system disorders."
About Karuna Pharmaceuticals
Karuna is a clinical-stage drug development company targeting
muscarinic cholinergic receptors for the treatment of psychosis and
cognitive impairment across central nervous system (CNS) disorders,
including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as
neuropathic pain. Karuna's lead product candidate, KarXT, consists
of xanomeline, a novel muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist
that has demonstrated efficacy in placebo-controlled human trials
in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease without the troubling
sedative, metabolic, and neurological side effects of currently
prescribed antipsychotic drugs, and trospium chloride, an
FDA-approved and well-established muscarinic receptor antagonist
that has been shown not to enter the central nervous system (CNS).
Karuna has demonstrated improved tolerability of KarXT vs
xanomeline in a placebo-controlled human study and is currently
conducting a Phase 1 trial using a proprietary co-formulation of
xanomeline and trospium chloride. A Phase 2 trial of safety and
efficacy in people with schizophrenia is expected to begin in the
third quarter of 2018. Karuna, which was founded by PureTech Health
(LSE: PRTC), has a worldwide exclusive license for xanomeline and
has a patent portfolio more broadly covering selective muscarinic
targeting enabled by the KarXT approach. For more information,
visit www.karunapharma.com.
About PureTech Health
PureTech Health (LSE: PRTC) is an advanced, clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing novel medicines for
dysfunctions of the Brain-Immune-Gut (BIG). The Company has
developed deep insight into the connection between these systems
and the resulting role in many chronic diseases, which represent
the majority of healthcare spend and have proven resistant to
established therapeutic approaches. By harnessing this emerging
field of human biology, PureTech Health has developed new
categories of medicines with the potential to have great impact on
people with serious diseases.
PureTech Health is advancing a rich pipeline of innovative
therapies across two divisions. Its Affiliates division includes
two product candidates that are preparing for potential regulatory
approval in the United States and Europe and a number of clinical
and pre-clinical programmes. These affiliates have developed
ground-breaking platforms and therapeutic candidates in
collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific
experts.
PureTech's Internal division (Ariya) is advancing a pipeline
fuelled by recent discoveries in lymphatics and immune cell
trafficking to modulate disease in a tissue-specific manner. These
programmes build on a new understanding of the transport and
biodistribution of various immune system components in order to
develop targeted therapies for diseases with major unmet needs
including cancer and autoimmune and neuroimmune disorders. One of
these programmes, which is focused on the oral administration of
nucleic acids and other biologics using milk exosomes, is being
advanced in collaboration with Roche for the potential application
across their antisense oligonucleotides platform.
For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect
with us on Twitter @puretechh.
Ownership Information and Other Required Disclosures
PureTech Health owns approximately 58.4% of Karuna calculated on
a diluted basis(1) and approximately 56.8% of Karuna calculated on
a fully-diluted basis(2) following the closing of the Series A
Financing.
(1) This calculation includes issued and outstanding shares as
well as outstanding options to purchase shares, but excludes
unallocated shares authorised to be issued pursuant to equity
incentive plans.
(2) This calculation includes issued and outstanding shares,
outstanding options to purchase shares, and unallocated shares
authorised to be issued pursuant to equity incentive plans.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the
company's future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in the regulatory filings for PureTech Health plc. These
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding the
present and future business strategies of the company and the
environment in which it will operate in the future. Each
forward-looking statement speaks only as at the date of this press
release. Except as required by law and regulatory requirements,
neither the company nor any other party intends to update or revise
these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
Contact:
Investors EU media US media
Allison Mead Talbot Ben Atwell, Rob Winder Tom Donovan
or +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 +1 857 559 3397
Shannon Costello ben.atwell@FTIconsulting.com tom@tenbridgecommunications.com
+1 781 366 2457
sc@puretechhealth.com
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
MSCFKBDNQBKKKFK
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 02, 2018 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT)
Puretech Health (LSE:PRTC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Puretech Health (LSE:PRTC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024