TIDMSYNC
RNS Number : 8176V
Syncona Limited
16 December 2021
Syncona Limited
Syncona cornerstones CHF 110 million Series B financing in
Anaveon
16 December 2021
-- Syncona cornerstones Anaveon's Series B financing of CHF 110
million (GBP90 million [1] ), committing CHF 35 million (GBP29
million), alongside a leading international investor syndicate
-- Syncona's holding in Anaveon written up by GBP20 million; 88
per cent uplift (3p per share) [2]
-- Syncona holding now valued at GBP59 million following first
tranche investment of CHF 21 million (GBP17 million); on drawdown
of the full Series B financing, Syncona's ownership stake in the
business will be 38 per cent [3]
Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on founding,
building and funding global leaders in life science, today
announces that it has committed CHF 35 million (GBP29 million) to
Anaveon AG ("Anaveon"), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company,
in a CHF 110 million (GBP 90 million) Series B financing. Syncona
was a cornerstone investor in the financing round, which was led by
Forbion and supported by a leading international syndicate of
specialist investors, including existing investor Novartis Venture
Fund and new investors Cowen Healthcare Investments (a division of
Cowen Investment Management), Pfizer Ventures and Pontifax.
Following the Series B financing, Syncona has revalued its
existing investment which has resulted in an 88% uplift [4] .
Including the drawdown of the first tranche of Syncona's Series B
investment of CHF 21 million (GBP17 million) , Syncona's holding
value of Anaveon is now GBP59 million. On drawdown of the full
Series B financing, Syncona's ownership stake in Anaveon will be 38
per cent.
Anaveon is focused on enhancing the immune response to cancer.
Anaveon's lead asset, ANV419, is a selective IL-2 receptor agonist,
a type of protein drug which can potentially generate therapeutic
cancer responses by expanding certain immune cells (T-cell and
Natural Killer cells) with known anti-cancer activity. ANV419 has
been designed to seek to overcome known challenges with
selectivity, toxicity and durability of human IL-2, an approved
drug for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and renal cancer.
This type of product, if approved, could be used both as a
monotherapy and in combination with other treatments (e.g.
checkpoint antibodies) in the treatment of solid and liquid
tumours.
Anaveon has recently released encouraging pre-clinical data
which suggests that ANV419 could have a class-leading
efficacy/safety profile, with clinical data from the company's
Phase I/II open label study of ANV419 expected in Q1 CY2022.
Following the Series B financing, Anaveon has now raised total
funds of CHF 145 million (GBP117 million) [5] since its Series A
financing in 2019. These proceeds will be used to explore ANV419's
full therapeutic potential via the initiation of multiple Phase II
clinical programmes. The funding will also be used to broaden the
company's pipeline with new programmes such as Anaveon's targeted
follow-on compound, now in pre-clinical development.
Martin Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Syncona Investment
Management Limited, said: "We continue to be excited about
Anaveon's potential to develop a best-in-class agent in the
selective IL-2 space and are very encouraged by the progress it has
made since our initial investment in 2019. Recent pre-clinical data
indicates a potentially class-leading efficacy and safety profile
for its lead product and we look forward to supporting Anaveon as
it progresses this programme and its broadening pipeline.
For Syncona, this financing is further validation of our ability
to work with high quality syndicates to fund our companies to
deliver on their promise and ambitions. The strength of this
syndicate reflects our confidence and excitement in the company's
potential to deliver a product that could make a real difference to
the lives of patients in areas of high unmet medical need."
Andreas Katopodis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of
Anaveon, said: "There is strong momentum behind Anaveon and we are
thrilled to welcome leading EU and US investors Forbion, Cowen
Healthcare Investments, Pfizer Ventures and Pontifax to the
company. I would also like to personally thank our existing
founding investors for their continued guidance and support to
bring the company this far. With this fundraising we have made a
clear statement about the scale and nature of our ambitions to
bring cancer therapies rapidly to patients with a high unmet
medical need, as well as leverage the experience of our in-house
cytokine engineering experts to broaden our pipeline for the
benefit of patients suffering from diseases with immune
dysregulation pathologies."
[ENDS]
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.
Enquiries
Syncona Ltd
Annabel Clay / Fergus Witt
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3981 7940
FTI Consulting
Ben Atwell / Natalie Garland-Collins / Tim Stamper
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
About Syncona
Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life.
We do this by founding and building companies to deliver
transformational treatments to patients in areas of high unmet
need.
Our strategy is to found, build and fund companies around
exceptional science to create a diversified portfolio of 15-20
globally leading healthcare businesses for the benefit of all our
stakeholders. We focus on developing treatments for patients by
working in close partnership with world-class academic founders and
management teams. Our balance sheet underpins our strategy enabling
us to take a long-term view as we look to improve the lives of
patients with no or poor treatment options, build sustainable life
science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to
shareholders.
About Anaveon
Anaveon is a clinical stage, biopharmaceutical company, based in
Switzerland, that develops biologics to modulate the function of
cytokines and provide substantial therapeutic benefit to cancer
patients. Our vision is to develop novel immune therapies
benefiting patients suffering from a wide variety of diseases with
immune pathology. For further information please visit the
Company's website at: www.anaveon.com .
[1] FX rates at 15 December 2021
[2] To previous holding value as at 30 September 2021 and
additional investment of GBP3.1 million invested at previous
holding value
[3] Percentage holding reflects Syncona's ownership stake at the
point full current commitments are invested on a fully-diluted
basis
[4] See footnote 2
[5] FX rate for GBP Series A commitment taken at time of the
Series A financing (26 February 2019)
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END
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