Opsona Therapeutics Limited (Opsona), the innate immune drug development company, today announced that it has raised an additional €3 million (US $4 million) in a second closing of its previously announced Series C equity financing from new investor Omnes Capital. The extension brings the total raised by Opsona in this Series C financing to €36 million (US $48.6 million). On April 25th, 2013, Opsona raised €33 million (US $43 million) from Novartis Venture Fund, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Roche Venture Fund, Seroba-Kernel Life Sciences, BB Biotech Ventures, Sunstone Capital, Baxter Ventures, Amgen Ventures and EMBL Ventures.
The company will use the proceeds of this Series C financing to supplement funding a three-part multi-centered, double blinded and placebo controlled clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of its lead product OPN-305 in renal transplant patients at high risk of Delayed Graft Function (DGF) as the first clinical indication for the development of OPN-305. The clinical study has already commenced with successful recruitment of patients underway. Opsona's lead product is a humanized monoclonal IgG4 antibody targeting Toll-like-receptor-2 (TLR2) and has demonstrated activity in a number of animal models and was recently tested successfully in a phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers and in a pilot cohort of renal transplant recipients.
Dr. Martin Welschof, CEO of Opsona, commented: “I am delighted Omnes Capital is joining the exceptional Series C consortium of venture captial and corporate venture firms. The second closing of our Series C with Omnes Capital further validates the great medical and commercial potential of our drug candidate OPN-305.” Dr. Bruno Montanari, Life Sciences Director, Omnes Capital, added: “I am looking forward to progressing Opsona’s lead product OPN-305 through the well-designed Phase II efficacy study to prevent delayed graft function (DGF) in renal transplantation, an indication with major unmet medical need and attractive commercial potential. In addition, I am interested in exploring the full potential of OPN-305 in additional disease indications.”
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About Opsona Therapeutics
Opsona is a leading immunology drug development company, focused on novel therapeutic approaches to key targets of the innate immune system associated with a wide range of major human diseases, including autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, transplant rejection, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis. The company was founded in 2004 by three world-renowned immunologists at Trinity College in Dublin. The company was awarded a EUR 6 million non-dilutive grant by the European Union for clinical development of its anti-TLR2 antibody in solid organ transplantation including renal transplantation and the program has recently obtained EMA and FDA orphan drug status. Additional indications are currently explored.
Further information is available at http://www.opsona.com/. About Omnes Capital (formerly Crédit Agricole Private Equity)
Omnes Capital is a major player in private equity, with a commitment to financing SMEs. With €1.8 billion in assets under management, Omnes capital provides companies with the capital needed to finance their growth and with key expertise in a number of areas: Mid and Small Cap Buyout & Growth Capital, Venture Capital in technology and life sciences, Renewable Energy, Mezzanine, Secondary Funds of Funds, Co-Investment. Omnes Capital, formerly Crédit Agricole Private Equity, was a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole until March 2012 when the company gained its independence. Omnes Capital is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
Further information is available at http://www.omnescapital.com/.
For further information please contact:
Martin Welschof (CEO) - mwelschof@opsona.com or + 353 1 6770223
Martine Sessin-Caracci - martine.sessincaracci@omnescapital.com or +33 1 80 48 79 15
Caroline Babouillard (Shan) - caroline.babouillard@shan.fr or +33 1 44 50 58 72