Tag Archives: healthcare

Altamir to invest in Mentaal Beter via the Apax France X fund

Altamir

Paris, 8 January 2021 – Apax Partners SAS has reached an agreement with NPM Capital NV to acquire 100% of the NL Mental Care Group B.V. (Mentaal Beter), an innovative mental health care service provider in the Netherlands, operating through the brands Mentaal Beter, Vitalmindz, Alleskits and Opdidakt. This acquisition would be taken alongside the company’s management team who will retain a stake in the company and will continue to lead the business.
This significant investment would enable Mentaal Beter to accelerate its digitalisation strategy to further improve access and quality of care in the coming years. Mentaal Beter also wants to internationalise its unique business model and skills across Europe.
The intended acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant authorities (the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) and the Dutch Competition Authority (ACM)).

Mentaal Beter, initially a franchise model, has grown into a successful network of mostly owned practices with more than 120 locations across the Netherlands. Since 2013, with the active support of NPM Capital, the firm has invested in company training for psychologists to become licensed therapists, as well as IT systems and E-health capability. In addition, Mentaal Beter has strengthened and modernised its structure by setting-up an effective central shared service center that handles most administrative tasks, allowing therapists to focus on patients’ care.

About Altamir
Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with an investment portfolio of more than €1.2bn. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.
Altamir’s investment policy is to invest via and with the funds managed or advised by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives.
In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax’s sectors of specialisation (TMT, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in continental Europe and larger companies in Europe, North America and key emerging markets).
Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as a SCR (“Société de Capital Risque”). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company’s investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions.
For more information: www.altamir.fr
Contact
Claire Peyssard Moses
Tel.: +33 1 53 65 01 74 / E-mail: investors@altamir.fr

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SpyGlass Ophthalmics Completes $27.5 Million Series B Financing to Advance Novel Treatments for Chronic Ophthalmic Diseases

Financing Will Support the Clinical Development of Platform Therapies Designed to Address Major Unmet Needs in the Treatment of Ophthalmic Diseases

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (PRWEB)January 07, 2021

SpyGlass Ophthalmics (“SpyGlass”), a privately-held ophthalmic therapeutics company announced today that it has secured $27.5 million in Series B financing. The financing, which was led by Vensana Capital alongside existing investor New Enterprise Associates (“NEA”), will enable the company to further advance development efforts of platform technology that has the potential to address several unmet needs across a range of chronic ophthalmic diseases.

“Combining the strengths of NEA and Vensana will allow us to further accelerate our efforts from the R&D phase towards clinical studies in areas that are currently underserved in the global ophthalmic market.” said Glenn Sussman, CEO and Co-Founder of SpyGlass Ophthalmics. “We believe our approach represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of eye diseases with significant advantages compared to currently commercialized therapies”, said Dr. Malik Y. Kahook, MD who is Co-Founder and President of SpyGlass Ophthalmics. NEA General Partner Dr. Ali Behbahani stated, “We are extremely impressed with the progress SpyGlass Ophthalmics has achieved since it was spun out of the University of Colorado. We believe our technology represents an innovative advancement in how clinicians can treat chronic ophthalmic diseases and look forward to our continued partnership with the company.” NEA Principal Dr. Tak Cheung, formerly a board observer, will now be joining the SpyGlass board. Vensana Managing Partner Kirk Nielsen and Principal Cynthia Yee joined the SpyGlass board upon the close of the financing and added, “We’re excited to partner with the experienced SpyGlass team to develop products that provide better outcomes for patients and reduce the burden and cost of chronic ophthalmic disease management.”

ABOUT SPYGLASS OPHTHALMICS
SpyGlass Ophthalmics was Co-founded by Dr. Malik Y. Kahook, MD and Glenn Sussman. The company is focused on the development of novel treatments for chronic ophthalmic diseases. The technology was originally developed in the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and spun off campus post Series A funding from New Enterprise Associates. http://www.spyglassophthalmics.com

ABOUT NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With nearly $24 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm’s first fund closed in 1978, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 230 portfolio company IPOs and more than 390 acquisitions. http://www.nea.com.

ABOUT VENSANA CAPITAL
Vensana Capital is a venture capital and growth equity investment firm dedicated to partnering with entrepreneurs who seek to transform healthcare with breakthrough innovations in medical technology. Launched in 2019, Vensana is actively investing in late development and commercial stage companies across the medtech sector, including medical devices, diagnostics, drug delivery, digital health, and tech-enabled services. Vensana’s investment team has a history of successfully partnering with management teams behind industry-leading companies including Cameron Health, CardiAQ, Cartiva, CV Ingenuity, Epix Therapeutics, Inari Medical, Intact Vascular, Lutonix, Neuwave Medical, Sequent Medical, Topera, Ulthera, Veran Medical Technologies, and Vertiflex. Learn more at http://www.vensanacap.com.
https://www.vensanacap.com/

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PointClickCare Technologies Enters Next Phase of Growth with Minority Strategic Investment from New Investor Hellman & Friedman and Existing Investor Dragoneer Investment Group

Hellman & Friedman

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Canada

Investments Expected to Drive Further Expansion of PointClickCare Product Offerings and Accelerate Growth

PointClickCare Technologies, the leader in cloud-based healthcare software for the long-term and post-acute care market, today announced a minority strategic investment from affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC (“H&F”), a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive approach focused on investments in high-quality growth businesses, as well as an increased investment from Dragoneer Investment Group, a long-term-oriented investment firm with an extensive track record of investing in leading growth companies.

H&F will work with the PointClickCare leadership team to continue fueling growth and expanding the company’s product offerings. As part of the investment, Sameer Narang, Partner at H&F, will join the PointClickCare Board of Directors. PointClickCare Founders Mike and David Wessinger will continue to control and operate the company with the support of the Board of Directors.

“We are excited to welcome Hellman & Friedman as an investor in PointClickCare given its deep sector expertise and its collaborative partnership approach, and are delighted to officially welcome Sameer to our board. This investment, along with Dragoneer’s increased stake, will help us accelerate our growth and expansion across the healthcare continuum, and enable us to continue delivering on our commitment to our customers’ success – particularly at a time when the need for more seamless care through innovative technology is paramount.”

said Mike Wessinger, founder, and chief executive officer of PointClickCare.

“H&F is thrilled to join PointClickCare’s investor base. We believe there is significant growth opportunity ahead given the company’s exceptional customer relationships, strong product suite, and leading market position in the post-acute ecosystem. PointClickCare sits at the intersection of our healthcare and software investment efforts, exhibiting all the compelling characteristics we seek out when investing in vertical-market category leaders. We look forward to collaborating with the team and believe we are uniquely positioned to further accelerate the company’s expansion, for the benefit of its customers and the broader healthcare industry.”

said Sameer Narang, Partner at H&F.

“As the largest outside investor in PointClickCare, we are thrilled to be expanding our investment in PointClickCare. We look forward to continuing to support PointClickCare as it builds on its already impressive momentum and delivers even more of the hallmark innovation that has created fierce loyalty among its customers.”

said Christian Jensen, Partner at Dragoneer and member of the PointClickCare Board of Directors.

PointClickCare’s cloud-based healthcare software platform provides the core clinical and administrative system of record and a comprehensive suite of workflow management tools for skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, and home health agencies. PointClickCare currently serves over 21,000 long-term and post-acute care providers, including approximately 65% of skilled nursing facilities in the United States.

PointClickCare recently acquired Collective Medical, the leading network-enabled platform for real-time cross-continuum care coordination. Together, PointClickCare and Collective Medical will provide diverse care teams across the continuum of acute, ambulatory, and post-acute care with point-of-care access to deep, real-time patient insights at any stage of a patient’s healthcare journey, enabling better decision-making and improved clinical outcomes at lower cost.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank JMI Equity, which has undoubtedly contributed to the success of PointClickCare and our customers by enabling us to expand the breadth of our solution suite and meet the evolving needs of long-term care providers. Most importantly, we thank them for believing in our vision. We look forward to building on the continued leadership momentum we have created and are pleased to have the H&F team on board, alongside the continued support of Dragoneer Investment Group and JMI Equity, as we approach our next stage of growth.”

continued Mike Wessinger.

UBS Investment Bank provided financial advisory services and Goodwin Procter LLP provided legal advisory services to PointClickCare in the successful financing and facilitation of the equity transactions. Evercore provided financial advisory services to JMI Equity.

To learn more about PointClickCare, visit pointclickcare.com.

About PointClickCare
With a suite of fully-integrated applications powered by cloud-based healthcare software, PointClickCare leads the way in helping care providers connect, collaborate, and share data within their network. Over 21,000 long-term and post-acute care providers, including skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, and home health agencies use PointClickCare today, making it the North American healthcare IT market leader for the senior care industry. For more information on PointClickCare’s software solutions, visit pointclickcare.com.

Contact
Tania DiVito
Corporate Communications Manager, PointClickCare
905-858-8885 x1997
800-277-5889 x1997
tania.divito@pointclickcare.com

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Scorpion Therapeutics Announces Oversubscribed $162 Million Series B Financing

Abingworth

January 7, 2021

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Diabeloop SA. and SFC Fluidics Inc. announce development agreement for the United States

Supernova Invest

Supernova Invest

SFC Fluidics Inc., developer of an Alternate Controller Enabled (ACE)
insulin delivery pod and Diabeloop, pioneer in therapeutic artificial
intelligence, are partnering to integrate the SFC ACE insulin pod into
Diabeloop’s Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) solution. The
agreement includes a full US-adaptation of the system.
A common mission: bring the next generation of diabetes management
to patients with type 1 diabetes in the United States.

Diabeloop is developing interoperable solutions, based on a proprietary self-learning algorithm,
for diabetes management. Both DBLG1 ® , their first product, and DBL-hu (for highly unstable Type 1
diabetes) have received CE-marking and will be deployed in Europe in 2021.
The technology developed by Diabeloop – an algorithm hosted in a dedicated handset – wirelessly
communicates with a continuous glucose monitoring device (CGM) and an insulin pump in an AID
(closed-loop) system. Diabeloop’s artificial intelligence analyzes glucose data, calculates the proper
dose of insulin to be administered and instructs the pump to deliver it, thus automating the treatment.
The agreement signed today covers the development of a system integrating the SFC insulin pump as
an Alternate Controller-Enabled 1 (ACE) insulin pump.
SFC’s ACE insulin delivery pod (“Panda™”) is intended for the subcutaneous delivery of insulin at set
and variable rates for the management of diabetes mellitus in persons requiring insulin. Its advanced
microfluidic pumping system (ePump®) is designed to provide accurate delivery of extremely small
doses of insulin without the resolution limits inherent in other commercially-available delivery devices.
SFC believes its technology will effectively eliminate 95% of over and under dispenses of insulin.
SFC’s proprietary Dispense Confirmation Sensor (DCS™) represents a differentiating technology that
can detect flow or no flow conditions of insulin in real-time. The DCS will quickly signal a lack of
dispense for any reason. SFC received the US Food and Drug Administration’s breakthrough device
designation for its Panda™ insulin delivery pod on November 5, 2020.
“We are encouraged that our relationship with Diabeloop continues to progress towards a meaningful
goal of a marketed artificial pancreas in the US” , commented Don Jackson, CFO of SFC .

A fully integrated AID system tailored to the US market

Diabeloop and SFC Fluidics share the vision of advancing diabetes therapy for patients through
state-of-the-art technologies and a fully automated approach.
SFC Fluidics and Diabeloop continue their relationship, which started with a project initially funded by
the JDRF.
“JDRF is committed to improving the lives of people with type 1 diabetes by supporting innovations in
diabetes treatments. We are excited to see the partnership between Diabeloop and SFC Fluidics
continue to flourish and look forward to the development of a novel artificial pancreas system that can
improve the health and quality of life of people living with T1D ”, said Jonathan Rosen , Ph.D., Associate
Director of Research at JDRF.
SFC would also like to acknowledge the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, for help in funding the development of various
aspects of the ACE pod 2 .
The new agreement includes the adaptation of Diabeloop’s algorithm and data visualization platform
YourLoops™, the integration of the SFC ACE insulin pump, as well as the application for regulatory
approval and the conduct of non-clinical and clinical trials, all following US Food and Drug
Administration regulations 3 .
“We are delighted to reinforce our collaboration with this strong partner. The conclusion of this
agreement with SFC Fluidics, Inc. is a real mutual achievement, and for Diabeloop it is an additional
opportunity to enter the US market ”, commented Marc Julien, co-CEO of Diabeloop .

About Diabeloop
Diabeloop’s mission: to relieve people living with Type 1 diabetes from dozens of therapeutic decisions and
reduce their heavy mental burden. Initially conceived from a medical research project, Diabeloop was created
in 2015 by Dr. Guillaume Charpentier, now Chief Medical Officer, and Erik Huneker who has co-managed the
company with Marc Julien since 2016. This complementary management team works with experienced
partners, CEA-Leti (a research laboratory) and CERITD (a French research team of diabetologists).
In 2018, DBLG1 ® System, Diabeloop’s first medical device for automated diabetes management, obtained CE
marking, followed by DBL-hu, its solution for highly unstable Type 1 diabetes management in 2020.
A second round of financing of 31 million euros concluded in November 2019 to speed up the international
commercial rollout of the DBLG1 ® iController and support an ambitious R&D program.
Today, Diabeloop gathers the personality, the passion and the skills of close to 100 talented individuals who
work hard to improve the quality of life for every person living with Type 1 diabetes.

About SFC Fluidics, Inc.
SFC Fluidics, Inc. has a mission to advance healthcare and improve quality of life through our enabling
microfluidic technologies. The company’s vision is to become a recognized global leader in drug delivery, with
a focus on insulin, where our unique product lines improve lifestyle and affordability. SFC Fluidics ® is a VIC

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Liva Healthcare secures €24.5m funding – led by Verlinvest – to drive European leadership in digital chronic disease prevention and management

Verlinvest

Liva Healthcare (“Liva”), a European market leader in scalable digital health coaching, has secured a new funding round of EUR 24.5 million, led by Verlinvest, the go-to investor for mission-driven entrepreneurs and category-defining global consumer brands. The investment will enable Liva to strengthen its position as a European leader in digital health and lifestyle coaching for chronic disease prevention and management.

Liva is a health tech company headquartered in Copenhagen and London with the mission to improve the lives of people at risk of, or living with, chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases by driving positive behavioural change. Liva blends scalable health coaching focused on personal human relationships with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Liva was founded in 2015 by the team behind independent health information portal NetDoctor.com.

The on-going Covid-19 pandemic has led to a significant shift in acceptance of remote healthcare by European consumers. This shift in acceptance and the subsequent patient behaviour has given Liva a significant increase in interest from public healthcare providers and life science companies in 2020.

Liva is used by clients such as Novo Nordisk, AXA Health, Amgen, City of Copenhagen, Bupa Australia and several other key players in public healthcare, insurance and life science industries globally. Liva is also a partner to NHS England on its world-leading National Diabetes Prevention Programme. Liva is currently operational in Britain, Australia, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland with operations currently being setup in Germany and Switzerland.

Read more at Businesswire.com

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Gilde Healthcare leads $28 million financing in Volta Medical to revolutionize persistent AFib ablation

GIlde Healthcare

Marseille (France) – Utrecht (the Netherlands) – Volta Medical, a French-based HealthTech startup, pioneering novel artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to treat cardiac arrythmias, today announced that it has successfully raised an 28 million USD financing round led by Gilde Healthcare. The new capital will allow the company to establish its revolutionary FDA-cleared and CE marked VX1 AI software solution as a new standard of care, pursue further R&D activities and start to roll out commercial activities across the US and Europe. Recruitment for TAILORED-AF, an international multicenter trial has already started. Volta Medical will be welcoming two new Board members. Janke Dittmer, General Partner at Gilde Healthcare, has been nominated as a board member and former medical device industry top executive, Denis Gestin, as an independent board member.

AF affected approximately 6 million patients in the US in 2019 and is estimated to double by 2060. 120,000-215,000 new cases are projected to occur in this part of the world each year reaching a total AF patient population level of 14-17 million. After developing the first commercially available AI software to help electrophysiologists improve management of cardiac arrythmias, Volta Medical is now preparing to transform the way ablation procedures will take place in the future.

About atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF)

AF can be considered an “electrical storm” in the atria in which all synchronized activities have disappeared, and the necessary coordination of the contraction stops. This can lead to a number of symptoms including palpitations, shortness of breath, and in some patients, heart failure. AF is also a major risk factor for stroke, as stagnant blood in the atrium during AF may lead the formation of a clot, that can migrate to the brain.

AF affected approximately 6 million patients in the US in 2019 and is estimated to double by 2060. 120,000-215,000 new cases are projected to occur in this part of the world each year reaching a total AF patient population level of 14-17 million. A study in the UK concluded that AFib is an extremely costly public health problem. Evidence suggests a higher prevalence of AFib in patients with hypertension, heart failure, coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes. In addition, recent studies show that 20-30% of patients with ischemic stroke have had AFib before, during or after the initial event. AF increases the likelihood of stroke by four to five times and AFib-induced strokes that are generally associated with more severe damage.
About Volta Medical
Founded by three physicians and a data scientist in 2016 in Marseille, Volta Medical is a HealthTech company developing AI software solutions to assist cardiac electrophysiologists in the operating room. Volta’s overarching goal is to drastically improve cardiac arrythmia management by developing state-of-the-art, data-driven medical devices trained on large databases of procedural data with the highest standards of data protection. Its first product, VX1, assists cardiologists for the real-time identification of specific abnormal electrograms, known as dispersed electrograms.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.volta-medical.com.

About the VX1 AI software
VX1 consists of a highly innovative AI algorithm that is compatible with most readily available multipolar catheters and technologies currently used in operating rooms or electrophysiology labs. The VX1 software analyzes the patient’s electrograms in real-time to identify specific electrograms known as dispersed electrograms. It also provides a cycle length estimation from electrograms recorded with the mapping and the coronary sinus catheters.

The clinical significance of utilizing the VX1 software to help identify areas with intra-cardiac atrial electrograms exhibiting spatiotemporal dispersion for catheter ablation of atrial arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, has not been established by clinical investigations.

VX1 is a medical device which is FDA cleared and has a CE mark.

About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over $1.5 billion across two fund strategies: venture & growth capital and private equity. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, MedTech and therapeutics. The venture & growth companies are based in Europe and North America. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com.

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PointClickCare Technologies Enters Next Phase of Growth with Minority Strategic Investment from New Investor Hellman & Friedman and Existing Investor Dragoneer Investment Group

JMI Equity

Investments Expected to Drive Further Expansion of PointClickCare Product Offerings and Accelerate Growth

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PointClickCare Technologies, the leader in cloud-based healthcare software for the long-term and post-acute care market, today announced a minority strategic investment from affiliates of Hellman & Friedman LLC (“H&F”), a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive approach focused on investments in high-quality growth businesses, as well as an increased investment from Dragoneer Investment Group, a long-term-oriented investment firm with an extensive track record of investing in leading growth companies.

H&F will work with the PointClickCare leadership team to continue fueling growth and expanding the company’s product offerings. As part of the investment, Sameer Narang, Partner at H&F, will join the PointClickCare Board of Directors. PointClickCare Founders Mike and David Wessinger will continue to control and operate the company with the support of the Board of Directors.

“We are excited to welcome Hellman & Friedman as an investor in PointClickCare given its deep sector expertise and its collaborative partnership approach, and are delighted to officially welcome Sameer to our board,” said Mike Wessinger. “This investment, along with Dragoneer’s increased stake, will help us accelerate our growth and expansion across the healthcare continuum, and enable us to continue delivering on our commitment to our customers’ success – particularly at a time when the need for more seamless care through innovative technology is paramount.”

“H&F is thrilled to join PointClickCare’s investor base. We believe there is significant growth opportunity ahead given the company’s exceptional customer relationships, strong product suite and leading market position in the post-acute ecosystem,” said Narang. “PointClickCare sits at the intersection of our healthcare and software investment efforts, exhibiting all the compelling characteristics we seek out when investing in vertical-market category leaders. We look forward to collaborating with the team and believe we are uniquely positioned to further accelerate the Company’s expansion, for the benefit of its customers and the broader healthcare industry.”

“As the largest outside investor in PointClickCare, we are thrilled to be expanding our investment in PointClickCare,” said Christian Jensen, Partner at Dragoneer and member of the PointClickCare Board of Directors. “We look forward to continuing to support PointClickCare as it builds on its already impressive momentum and delivers even more of the hallmark innovation that has created fierce loyalty among its customers.”

PointClickCare’s cloud-based healthcare software platform provides the core clinical and administrative system of record and a comprehensive suite of workflow management tools for skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities and home health agencies. PointClickCare currently serves over 21,000 long-term and post-acute care providers, including approximately 65% of skilled nursing facilities in the United States.

PointClickCare recently acquired Collective Medical, the leading network-enabled platform for real-time cross-continuum care coordination. Together, PointClickCare and Collective Medical will provide diverse care teams across the continuum of acute, ambulatory, and post-acute care with point-of-care access to deep, real-time patient insights at any stage of a patient’s healthcare journey, enabling better decision-making and improved clinical outcomes at lower cost.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank JMI Equity, which has undoubtedly contributed to the success of PointClickCare and our customers by enabling us to expand the breadth of our solution suite and meet the evolving needs of long-term care providers,” continued Wessinger. “Most importantly, we thank them for believing in our vision. We look forward to building on the continued leadership momentum we have created and are pleased to have the H&F team on board, alongside the continued support of Dragoneer Investment Group and JMI Equity, as we approach our next stage of growth.”

UBS Investment Bank provided financial advisory services and Goodwin Procter LLP provided legal advisory services to PointClickCare in the successful financing and facilitation of the equity transactions.  Evercore provided financial advisory services to JMI Equity.

To learn more about PointClickCare, visit www.pointclickcare.com.

About PointClickCare

With a suite of fully-integrated applications powered by cloud-based healthcare software, PointClickCare leads the way in helping care providers connect, collaborate, and share data within their network. Over 21,000 long-term and post-acute care providers, including skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, and home health agencies use PointClickCare today, making it the North American healthcare IT market leader for the senior care industry. For more information on PointClickCare’s software solutions, visit www.pointclickcare.com.

Contacts

Tania DiVito
Corporate Communications Manager, PointClickCare
Tania.divito@pointclickcare.com
905-858-8885 x1997
800-277-5889 x1997

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Aro Biotherapeutics Announces $88 Million Series A Financing to Advance Development of Centyrin-Targeted Genetic Medicines

Healthcap

Aro’s proprietary Centyrin technology platform enables precise receptor-mediated delivery of RNA drugs to address intracellular gene targets

– Funding will help advance lead candidates into clinical development

Philadelphia, PA, January 5, 2021 – a biotechnology company pioneering the development of tissue-targeted genetic medicines, today announced the closing of an $88 million Series A financing. Northpond Ventures and Cowen Healthcare Investments led the round, with participation from HealthCap, BVF Partners L.P., and Ridgeback Capital. Existing investors, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), BioMotiv, LLC, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. also participated in the round. Aro is developing a unique class of Centyrin-conjugated RNA therapies to efficiently and selectively target RNA medicines to the specific site of disease. The proceeds from the Series A will be used to advance the company’s lead therapeutic candidates into clinical development, with an initial focus in rare genetic and immune disorders.

​“Aro is poised to deliver on the promise of our Centyrin platform to enable more efficient and precise delivery of RNA drugs to extra-hepatic tissues. By exploiting new mechanisms of action, Centyrin-RNA conjugates have the potential to achieve superior efficacy and safety in treating intractable diseases,” said Susan Dillon, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Aro. “We greatly appreciate the confidence our investors have in our vision. With their support, we can rapidly progress the development of our innovative drug discovery pipeline and ultimately deliver transformative genetic medicines to patients that desperately need them.”

​Aro was founded in 2018 by Dr. Dillon and Karyn O’Neil, Ph.D., a co-inventor of the Centyrin platform.  Centyrins are small, exceptionally stable, engineered human proteins with several unique properties that make them ideally suited to target receptors on specific cells and deliver complex drug payloads to specific disease sites.

​“Aro’s unique and proprietary Centyrin platform has significant potential in the treatment of rare diseases,” said Shaan Gandhi, M.D., D.Phil., director at Northpond Ventures, who has joined Aro’s board of directors. “The company has an experienced leadership team with a track record of success in drug discovery and clinical development. We look forward to supporting them as they develop bold therapies that could make a real difference in the lives of patients.”

​“We are excited to invest in a company that is on the cutting edge in the development of genetic medicines,” said Kevin Raidy, managing partner of Cowen Healthcare Investments, who also joined Aro’s board of directors. “We look forward to working with the company as it strengthens and broadens its highly-differentiated Centyrin platform and are delighted to be part of the next chapter in Aro’s growth.”

About Aro Biotherapeutics

Based in Philadelphia, Aro Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of tissue-targeted genetic medicines with a platform based on a proprietary protein technology called Centyrins. The company is developing a wholly-owned pipeline of Centyrin-based therapeutic candidates and is working with industry partners to leverage Centyrins for tissue-specific targeting of therapeutics for a diverse set of diseases. For more information, visit www.arobiotx.com.

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Media Contact

Mike Beyer

Sam Brown Inc.

mikebeyer@sambrown.com

312-961-2502

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Andera Partners sells its Life Sciences’ portfolio company Arvelle Therapeutics

Andera Partners

Andera Partners sells its Life Sciences’ portfolio company Arvelle Therapeutics to Angelini Pharma in a deal valued at up to $960 million

Andera co-led the $207.5m Series A financing of Arvelle Therapeutics in February 2019 and joined the company’s board of directors. With the Series A funds, Arvelle in-licensed European product rights to Cenobamate from SK BioPharmaceuticals, prepared regulatory submission for the drug candidate and established a European structure.

Cenobamate is a small molecule with a unique dual complementary mechanism of action. It acts by positively modulating the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) ion channel and inhibiting voltage-gated sodium currents. Key study findings documented Cenobamate’s clinical efficacy by showing a significant greater reduction in median seizure frequency and more patients achieving a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency compared to the placebo group (see press release link below). Cenobamate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States as an anti-seizure medication for the treatment of focal-onset epileptic seizures in adults. In 2020 Arvelle filed for European approval of Cenobamate.

This transaction is the second industrial sale from Andera Life Sciences BioDiscovery 5 fund portfolio, following the sale of Corvidia to NovoNordisk for $2.1Bn in the summer of 2020. It further adds to four public listings of BioDiscovery 5 companies (Axonics, Erytech, LogicBio and Nyxoah), and occurs still during the funds’ investment period.

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