- Funds will be used to build out Myricx Bio's proprietary
payload platform and advance its pipeline through clinical proof of
concept.
- Novo Holdings Venture Investments Partner Michael Bauer will
join Myricx Board of Directors and Principal Max Klement will join Myricx Board as an
Observer.
- This is the largest European biotech Series A financing this
year.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark,
July 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Novo Holdings, a leading life science investor, today
announces that it has co-led a £90 million ($114 million) Series A financing for Myricx Bio
('Myricx'), the largest European biotech Series A financing this
year. Myricx Bio is a UK biotech company focusing on the discovery
and development of a novel payload class for antibody-drug
conjugates (ADCs).
The funds will be used to advance Myricx's proprietary pipeline
of N-Myristoyltransferase inhibitor (NMTi) ADCs through clinical
proof of concept, targeting clinically validated tumor-associated
antigens and addressing serious unmet needs in oncology. Led by a
team of drug hunters and internationally renowned scientists with
small molecule and ADC drug development experience and outstanding
track records of successes, Myricx is a spinout from Imperial
College London and the Francis Crick Institute. The Company will
establish laboratory operations in London and expand its Management and R&D
teams.
Michael Bauer, Partner,
Venture Investments, Novo Holdings said: "Myricx has gained
unique insights into the biology of NMT and its orthogonal and
differentiated mechanism. The scientific rationale behind its novel
payload chemistry gives us confidence that NMTi ADCs have the
potential to greatly expand the current repertoire of ADC
applications beyond the current standard-of-care payload classes,
creating opportunities for new treatment options for patients. This
investment reflects our strategy of investing in highly innovative
and high impact biotechs, and we look forward to supporting the
progress of Myricx through the clinic."
In connection with the financing, Michael Bauer will join the Myricx Board of
Directors. Additionally, Max
Klement, Principal, Venture Investments, Novo Holdings, will
join the Myricx Board as an Observer.
Myricx Bio Chief Executive Officer, Dr Robin Carr, added: "We welcome our new
investors, including Novo Holdings, and thank them for their
support as we enter our next phase of development. Myricx now has
the resources to grow into a fully-fledged R&D company with our
own laboratories, and an in-house R&D team with expanded
management capabilities. Consequently, we are well positioned to
build on our NMTi ADC platform and advance our pipeline as we
become a clinical stage company."
NMT is an enzyme that adds a specific lipid modification to a
number of protein targets key to cancer cell survival. The ADC
field is currently dominated by two key payload classes,
microtubule and topoisomerase inhibitors, with patients susceptible
to the acquired resistance leading to the need for greater payload
diversification with a novel, orthogonal and differentiated
mechanism of action.
Myricx has shown that NMTi ADCs achieve complete and durable
tumor regressions, at well tolerated doses, in multiple solid
cancer models that are refractory to topoisomerase inhibitor-based
ADCs. In addition, NMTi ADCs demonstrate potent bystander activity,
and deliver high efficacy in patient-derived xenograft (PDX)
organoid models across a broad range of antigen expression
levels.
Novo Holdings co-led the financing together with Abingworth,
with additional new investors British Patient Capital (BPC), a
wholly owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc,
the UK government's economic development bank and Eli Lilly &
Company, and current investors Sofinnova Partners and Brandon
Capital.
About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is
responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve
people's health and the sustainability of society and the planet by
generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation.
Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is
the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novonesis A/S
(Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment portfolio with a
long-term return perspective. In addition to managing a broad
portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and
private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a world-leading life
sciences investor. Through its Seeds, Venture, Growth, Asia, Planetary Health Investments and
Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science
companies at all stages of development.
As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets of
EUR 149 billion.
www.novoholdings.dk
About Myricx Bio
Myricx Bio is a UK biotech company focused on the discovery and
development of a completely novel class of payloads for
antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), based on inhibitors of
N-myristoyltransferases (NMT) for the treatment of
cancer.
Myricx was founded by Prof Ed
Tate, Dr Roberto Solari and
Dr Andrew Bell. Dr Robin Carr joined the team from GSK in 2019 and
has spearheaded the company's pivot from a focus on NMTi as small
molecule drugs to their potential as ADC payloads.
NMT is an enzyme that adds a specific lipid modification to a
number of protein targets key to cancer cell survival. Myricx is
advancing a pipeline of ADCs to address serious unmet needs in
oncology based on its NMT inhibitor (NMTi) payload chemistry
platform and has demonstrated excellent preclinical efficacy and
safety across multiple solid tumour associated antigens and cancer
cell types.
Based in London, Myricx is a
spin out from Imperial College London and the Francis Crick
Institute with investment from Sofinnova Partners and Brandon
Capital Partners. www.myricxbio.com
About ADCs
ADCs, described as targeted chemotherapy, are leading a new era
of cancer therapy, owing to their ability to selectively kill
cancer cells via cytotoxic payloads delivered directly to the tumor
cells. An ADC consists of three components: a monoclonal antibody
(mAb); a payload designed to kill the tumor cells; and a linker
that connects the two. The mAb targets tumor antigens on the cell
surface, delivering the cytotoxic payload only to the intended
cells, while sparing normal tissue. This targeted delivery of the
cytotoxic payload avoids high systemic exposure and therefore
reduces toxicity typically associated with chemotherapy.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/novo-holdings-co-leads-90-million-114-million-series-a-financing-for-myricx-bio-to-advance-a-novel-payload-class-for-antibody-drug-conjugates-302190026.html