TIDMPRTC
PureTech Health PLC
06 July 2020
7 July 2020
PureTech Health plc
PureTech Founded Entity Vor Biopharma Raises $110 Million in
Series B Financing
Proceeds will advance the company's lead programme into clinical
trials and expand the portfolio
Financing led by RA Capital Management, with Participation from
Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC, Pagliuca Family
Office, Alexandria Venture Investments, 5AM Ventures, Johnson &
Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) and Osage University
Partners
PureTech Health plc (LSE: PRTC) ("PureTech" or the "Company"), a
clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated to discovering,
developing and commercialising highly differentiated medicines for
devastating diseases, is pleased to note that its Founded Entity,
Vor Biopharma, has raised $110 million in a Series B financing.
Proceeds will advance the company's lead candidate VOR33 into
clinical trials, deepen its portfolio and accelerate the validation
of additional targets for its scientific platform, which is
designed to remove redundant proteins so that transplanted stem
cells become invisible to targeted therapies while leaving diseased
cells vulnerable. Vor's treatment strategy has the potential to
bring a revolutionary treatment paradigm for patients with acute
myeloid leukaemia and other haematologic malignancies.
Founded by PureTech and Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil, Vor is
developing engineered haematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) therapies for
the treatment of cancer.
Bharatt Chowrira, JD, PhD, PureTech's president and chief of
business and strategy, said: "Vor is breaking new ground with its
eHSCs therapies for treating cancer, which are designed to hide
healthy cells from targeted therapies while leaving diseased cancer
cells vulnerable to attack. This financing with top tier investors
is a strong testament to the strength of this scientific platform
and its potential to make a difference for cancer patients."
The full text of the announcement from Vor is as follows:
Vor Biopharma Closes $110 Million Series B Financing
Proceeds will advance the company's lead programme into clinical
trials and expand the portfolio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., - July 7, 2020 - Vor Biopharma, an oncology
company pioneering engineered haematopoietic stem cells (eHSCs) for
the treatment of cancer, today announced it has raised $110 million
in a Series B financing. Proceeds will advance the company's lead
candidate VOR33 into clinical trials, deepen its portfolio, and
accelerate the validation of additional targets for its scientific
platform, which is designed to remove redundant proteins so that
transplanted stem cells become invisible to targeted therapies
while leaving diseased cells vulnerable. Vor's treatment strategy
has the potential to bring a revolutionary treatment paradigm for
patients with acute myeloid leukaemia and other haematologic
malignancies.
"Vor has an elegant approach to engineering haematopoietic stem
cells that we believe is amongst the most promising innovations in
oncology," said Joshua Resnick, MD, Managing Director at RA Capital
Management. "We are proud to support the efforts of their
impressive team of experienced leaders and drug developers as they
work aggressively to establish a new standard of care in stem cell
transplants and forge ahead into first-in-human clinical
studies."
RA Capital Management led the Series B financing, along with a
diverse group of well-respected new investors: Fidelity Management
& Research Company, LLC, Pagliuca Family Office, Alexandria
Venture Investments, and other undisclosed investors, including
additional institutional crossover investors. Existing investors
5AM Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. (JJDC),
Osage University Partners, and co-founder PureTech Health
participated in the financing.
"The high caliber of investors participating in this financing
underscores the tremendous potential of our eHSC platform," said
Robert Ang, MBBS, MBA, Vor's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"We have ambitious goals for the coming year, and this financing is
an important step as we prepare to treat cancer patients in our
first clinical trials."
About Vor Biopharma
Vor Biopharma aims to transform the lives of cancer patients by
pioneering engineered haematopoietic stem cell (eHSC) therapies. By
removing biologically redundant proteins from eHSCs, these cells
become inherently invulnerable to complementary targeted therapies
while tumour cells are left susceptible, thereby unleashing the
potential of targeted therapies to benefit cancer patients in
need.
Vor's platform could be used to potentially change the treatment
paradigm of both haematopoietic stem cell transplants and targeted
therapies, such as antibody drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies
and CAR-T cell treatments. The results of a proof-of-concept
preclinical study for Vor's lead programme has been published in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Vor is based in Cambridge, Mass. and has a broad intellectual
property base, including in-licenses from Columbia University,
where foundational work was conducted by inventor and Vor
Scientific Board Chair Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil.
About VOR33
Vor's lead product candidate, VOR33, consists of engineered
haematopoietic stem cells (eHSCs) that lack the protein CD33. Once
these cells are transplanted into a cancer patient, we believe that
CD33 will become a far more cancer-specific target, potentially
avoiding toxicity to the normal blood and bone marrow associated
with CD33-targeted therapies. Vor aims to improve the therapeutic
window and effectiveness of CD33-targeted therapies, thereby
potentially broadening the clinical benefit to patients suffering
from acute myeloid leukaemia.
About PureTech Health
PureTech is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company dedicated
to discovering, developing and commercialising highly
differentiated medicines for devastating diseases, including
intractable cancers, lymphatic and gastrointestinal diseases,
central nervous system disorders and inflammatory and immunological
diseases, among others. The Company has created a broad and deep
pipeline through the expertise of its experienced research and
development team and its extensive network of scientists,
clinicians and industry leaders. This pipeline, which is being
advanced both internally and through PureTech's Founded Entities,
is comprised of 24 products and product candidates, including two
that have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). All of the underlying programmes and platforms that resulted
in this pipeline of product candidates were initially identified or
discovered and then advanced by the PureTech team through key
validation points based on the Company's unique insights into the
biology of the brain, immune and gut, or BIG, systems and the
interface between those systems, referred to as the BIG Axis.
For more information, visit www.puretechhealth.com or connect
with us on Twitter @puretechh.
Ownership Information
PureTech's percentage ownership of Vor following the financing
is approximately 11.8% on a diluted basis. This calculation of
PureTech's holding includes issued and outstanding shares as well
as options and warrants to purchase shares, but excludes
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.
Contact:
Investors EU media US media
Allison Mead Talbot Ben Atwell, Rob Winder Stephanie Simon
+1 617 651 3156 +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 +1 617 581 9333
amt@puretechhealth.com ben.atwell@FTIconsulting.com stephanie@tenbridgecommunications.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
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END
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 07, 2020 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)
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