arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody™ platform, announced today the closing of a EUR 27.5 million (USD 37 million) Series B fundraising round, which was oversubscribed. The fundraising was co-led by OrbiMed Advisors (USA) and Seventure Partners (France), with the existing shareholders Forbion Capital Partners, Credit Agricole Private Equity, LSP, BioGeneration Ventures, the Erasmus Biomedical Fund, Thuja Capital and VIB also participating. OrbiMed's founding partner, Dr Mike Sheffery, will join the arGEN-X Supervisory Board.
arGEN-X is developing a highly innovative pipeline of human antibody products from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody™ platform. The Company has five therapeutic programs under development for the treatment of autoimmune disorders, inflammation and oncology, with two now in formal preclinical development. arGEN-X' most advanced program, ARGX-110, addresses a clinically validated cell surface receptor implicated in autoimmunity and cancer and has been shown in preclinical models to modulate target function with unrivalled potency. arGEN-X expects to file an IND application for ARGX-110 in early 2013.
Tim Van Hauwermeiren, CEO of arGEN-X, commenting on today's announcement, said: "arGEN-X' ability to attract funding from such high caliber global life science investors, especially in such a difficult financial climate, reflects the compelling proposition of our SIMPLE Antibody™ platform and products. We have thoroughly validated the unique attributes of our platform and delivered therapeutic grade human antibodies against every target we selected to date, including those intractable to other antibody technologies. We have also outperformed in our first commercial collaboration with Lilly, meeting all technical milestones in record time. With our current cash resources we are now well positioned to execute our ambitious business plan, designed to deliver significant stakeholder value over the next three years."
Dr. Mike Sheffery, Founding Partner of OrbiMed, said: "We are very impressed by how arGEN-X' SIMPLE Antibody™ platform transforms candidate selection in antibody drug discovery, clearly differentiating it from other antibody platforms in the industry. The choice it provides is enabling the Company to create high quality, truly differentiated products."
Isabelle de Cremoux of Seventure said: "We have been watching developments at arGEN-X closely for a while and have been very impressed with the progress they have made. The team has not only demonstrated the broad utility of its SIMPLE Antibody™ platform, but has also created a highly novel and valuable development pipeline with modest resources and in under two years."
Phase 3 trial assesses clazakizumab in kidney transplant recipients with caAMR