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RNS Number : 0185L
Syncona Limited
03 September 2019
Syncona Limited
Syncona cornerstones GBP100 million financing in Achilles
03 September 2019
-- Syncona is the largest investor in GBP100m Series B financing
in Achilles committing GBP35.1million, with the remainder raised
from specialist global institutional investors
-- Syncona's holding in Achilles written up by GBP23.4 million
(3.5p per share); 91.4 per cent uplift to the holding value of
GBP25.6 million[1]
-- Syncona holding value following first tranche investment of
GBP72.4 million; on drawdown of the full Series B financing
Syncona's ownership stake in the business will be 44 per
cent[2]
Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding,
building and funding global leaders in life science, today
announces that it has committed GBP35.1 million to Achilles
Therapeutics ("Achilles"), a biopharmaceutical company developing
personalised cancer immunotherapies, in an oversubscribed GBP100
million Series B financing. Specialist global institutional
investors including RA Capital, Forbion, Invus, Perceptive Advisors
and Redmile Group, amongst others, also participated in the
financing, which resulted in a GBP23.4 million uplift (3.5p per
Syncona share) to Syncona's holding value of Achilles. Including
the drawdown of the first tranche of Syncona's Series B investment
(GBP23.4 million), Syncona's holding value of Achilles is now
GBP72.4 million. On drawdown of the full Series B financing,
Syncona's ownership stake in Achilles will be 44 per cent
(previously 69 per cent).
Achilles is developing personalised T-cell therapies for solid
tumours targeting clonal neoantigens; protein markers unique to
each patient that are present on the surface of all cancer cells.
Achilles uses DNA sequencing data, together with a proprietary
bioinformatics platform, to identify clonal neoantigens specific to
the patient. By targeting multiple clonal neoantigens that are
present on all cancer cells, but not on healthy cells, Achilles is
seeking to deliver individualised treatments to target and destroy
tumours without harming healthy tissues.
The Series B financing brings Achilles' total committed funding
to GBP128.3 million to date. Proceeds from the financing are
expected to enable the business to deliver two human
proof-of-concept studies in Achilles' first two programmes in
non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma. There are 228,150 patients
newly diagnosed with lung cancer in the US each year[3] and 96,480
patients diagnosed with melanoma[4]. The company expects its first
two programmes to enter the clinic this year. In addition, the
financing will enable Achilles to continue building out its
manufacturing capabilities as well as broaden its growing solid
tumour pre-clinical product pipeline.
Martin Murphy, CEO of Syncona Investment Management Limited,
said: "In 2016, we saw an opportunity to work with world-leading
experts to found a company harnessing unique insight into the
understanding of cancer evolution, bioinformatics and the
development of cell-based immunotherapies to target the treatment
of solid tumours. We are delighted with the strong progress
Achilles has made over the last three years and are excited about
its potential.
There is a significant opportunity for the business to develop
its next generation approach to bring innovative therapies to
patients in areas of high unmet need. We believe in maximising our
companies ambitions to take products to market and we are committed
to supporting Achilles over the long-term as it continues to
scale."
Dr Iraj Ali, CEO of Achilles Therapeutics, said: "Achilles is
leading the next wave of immuno-oncology drug development. We have
moved from concept to clinic-ready in less than three years. We are
extremely pleased to welcome this excellent group of new investors
to Achilles and I would like to personally thank our existing
founding investors for their continued support. With this
fundraising we have made a clear statement about the scale and
nature of our ambitions to bring novel cancer therapies rapidly to
patients with a high unmet medical need."
[ENDS]
Enquiries
Syncona Ltd
Siobhan Weaver / Annabel Clay
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3981 7940
FTI Consulting
Brett Pollard / Ben Atwell / Natalie Garland-Collins
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
Copies of this press release and other corporate information can
be found on the company website at: www.synconaltd.com
Forward-looking statements - this announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements with respect to the portfolio of
investments of Syncona Limited. These statements and forecasts
involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and
depend upon circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements. In particular, many companies
in the Syncona Limited portfolio are conducting scientific research
and clinical trials where the outcome is inherently uncertain and
there is significant risk of negative results or adverse events
arising. In addition, many companies in the Syncona Limited
portfolio have yet to commercialise a product and their ability to
do so may be affected by operational, commercial and other
risks.
About Syncona
Syncona is a leading FTSE250 healthcare company focused on
founding, building and funding global leaders in life science. Our
vision is to deliver transformational treatments to patients in
truly innovative areas of healthcare while generating superior
returns for shareholders.
We seek to partner with the best, brightest and most ambitious
minds in science to build globally competitive businesses.
We take a long-term view, underpinned by a deep pool of capital,
and are established leaders in gene and cell therapy. We focus on
delivering dramatic efficacy for patients in areas of high unmet
need.
About Achilles
Achilles Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing
personalised T cell therapies targeting clonal neoantigens: protein
markers unique to the individual that are expressed on the surface
of every cancer cell. Achilles uses DNA sequencing data from each
patient, together with the proprietary PELEUS(TM) bioinformatics
platform, to identify clonal neoantigens specific to that patient,
and then develop personalised T cell-based therapies specifically
targeting those clonal neoantigens.
Achilles was founded by lead investor Syncona Ltd and its
shareholders include the CRT Pioneer Fund, UCL Technology Fund,
Cancer Research Technology, with the support of UCL Business (UCLB)
and the Francis Crick Institute. For further information please
visit the Company's website at: www.achillestx.com.
[1] As at 30 June 2019
[2] Percentage holding reflects Syncona's ownership stake at the
point full current commitments are invested on a fully-diluted
basis.
[3] https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/lungb.html; non-small
cell lung accounts for an estimated c.85% of all lung cancers
(https://www.cancer.org/cancer/small-cell-lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html)
[4] https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/melan.html
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of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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