NeRRe Therapeutics raises £20 million in a Series B2 financing round

• New funds to evaluate orvepitant as a treatment for the disabling chronic cough associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

• New investor Columbus Venture Partners joins existing investors Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, OrbiMed, and the UK Government’s Future Fund.

NeRRe Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing orvepitant, its wholly-owned neurokinin-1 (NK-1) antagonist, as a first in class treatment for disabling chronic cough caused by reflex hypersensitivity disorders, today announces it has raised an additional £20 million in a Series B2 financing round.

Having demonstrated proof of efficacy in patients with refractory or unexplained chronic cough[i], NeRRe will now continue the clinical development of orvepitant in chronic cough caused by IPF, a rare type of interstitial lung disease[ii]. A dominant symptom of this severe progressive fibrotic pulmonary disease, in a high proportion of these terminally ill patients, is an uncontrolled, persistent, and disabling cough.

The chronic cough can markedly reduce quality of life, is often refractory to medical therapy and there are no approved treatments for it[iii]. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is recognised as an orphan disease in both Europe and the US.

The financing round involved a syndicate of leading transatlantic life sciences investors led by new investor Columbus Venture Partners and existing investors Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, OrbiMed and the UK Government’s Future Fund. The proceeds from the financing round will primarily be used to fund the Phase 2 clinical development of orvepitant as a treatment for chronic cough associated with IPF. Preparation for the start of the Phase 2 trial is underway.

Dr. Mary Kerr, CEO of NeRRe Therapeutics, said: “After demonstrating that orvepitant reduces the burden of chronic cough in one population, we are delighted to have received the financial support to further advance this promising asset for patients suffering from chronic cough associated with IPF. I am also pleased to welcome Columbus Venture Partners to the syndicate and would like to thank our existing investors for their continued support of the NeRRe team, and this exciting first in class asset.”

Toby Maher Professor of Medicine and Director of Interstitial Lung Disease at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles said: “IPF is a rare, progressive, and fatal form of interstitial lung disease in which cough can be a dominant and distressing feature. A treatment that improves this chronic cough would substantially improve the quality of life of many IPF patients.”

Javier Garcia, General Partner and Founder of Columbus Venture Partners, said: “We have been impressed by NeRRe’s clear strategy and focus on chronic cough associated with IPF, a condition of high unmet medical need and we look forward to supporting the company as it fully uncovers the multiple benefits that orvepitant can provide to these patients.”

About NeRRe Therapeutics (www.nerretherapeutics.com)

NeRRe Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company developing orvepitant, a neurokinin(NK)-1 receptor antagonist, as a first in class, once daily breakthrough treatment for cough hypersensitivity disorders. Having demonstrated proof of efficacy in patients with refractory or unexplained cough, NeRRe will now continue development in chronic cough caused by the rare and terminal lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). A dominant feature of this severe progressive respiratory disease in a high proportion of patients is an uncontrolled and persistent cough which is disabling for these terminally ill patients. The cough is often refractory to medical therapy and there are no approved treatments for it. IPF has been designated an orphan disease in both Europe and the USA. Preparations for the start of the Phase 2 trial to evaluate orvepitant as a treatment for disabling chronic cough associated with IPF are currently underway.

About Columbus

Columbus Venture Partners is a Spanish independent venture capital that brings a unique approach for investing in outstanding early-stage and high growth opportunities in the life science industry of Spain. Columbus has $275M under management through three funds. Our team includes solid and internationally experienced investment professionals with a deep scientific, medical and business development background combined with a proven experience in building and investing in companies to accelerate their commercialization. The combination of industry possibilities and investment experience will provide Limited Partner investors in the Fund a level of professionality and deep expertise that is essential for success in this field.

For more information, refer to www.columbusvp.com

About Advent Life Sciences

Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of experienced professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the UK, the US and Europe and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France.

For more information, refer to: www.adventls.com

About Fountain Healthcare Partners

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with EUR 300 million (USD 354 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. fh-partners.com

About Forbion

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space. Forbion manages well over EUR 1.7 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio)pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion’s current team consists of 20 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 69 companies. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA, Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI), AMUF and EFSI facilities and KfW Capital through the Programme, “ERP – Venture Capital Fonds investments”. Forbion operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early-stage funds, especially focused on Benelux and Germany.

For more information, please visit: www.forbion.com

About OrbiMed

OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with approximately $19 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry through a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya and other key global markets.

For more information, please visit: www.OrbiMed.com

About the Future Fund

The Future Fund was established to support the UK’s innovative businesses currently affected by Covid-19. These businesses have been unable to access other government business support programmes, such as CBILS, because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. The Future Fund provided eligible companies with convertible loans, on the condition that private investors at least match the government’s commitment. The convertible loans are designed to convert into equity at the next qualifying funding round. The Future Fund is developed by the government and delivered by the British Business Bank.

For more information, please contact:

Mary Kerr, CEO of NeRRe Therapeutics
Tel: +44 1438 906960
Email: info@nerretherapeutics.com

Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/ Lindsey Neville/ Carina Jurs
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
Nerretherapeutics@conslium-comms.com

[i] Smith J, Ballantyne E, Kerr M, Mcgarvey L, Morice A, Sher M, Trower M & Pawsey S. The neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist orvepitant improves chronic cough symptoms: results from a Phase 2b trial European Respiratory Journal 2019 54: PA600; DOI: 10.1183/13993003. 0

[ii] Orphanet – portal for rare diseases and orphan drugs. IPF entry: ORPHA:2032

[iii] Van Manen MJ, Birring SS, Vancheri C, Cottin V, Renzoni EA, Russell AM & Wijsenbeek MS. Cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Eur Respir Rev 2016; 25: 278-286.

Vigeland CL, Hughes AH & Horton MR. Etiology and treatment of cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Respiratory Medicine 2017; 123: 98-104

NeRRe Therapeutics Appoints Andrew Kay as Chairman of the Board

Extensive development & commercial expertise to guide company growth 
 

NeRRe Therapeutics, which is developing a unique portfolio of neurokinin (NK)-1 receptor antagonists for the treatment of common debilitating conditions caused by neuronal hypersensitivity, has appointed Andrew Kay as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Kay, who has extensive product development and commercial experience across the pharma and biotechnology sectors, takes over from Dr Kaasim Mahmood of Advent, who remains on the Board. Following the demerger of KaNDy Therapeutics, announced today, NeRRe Therapeutics is primarily focused on its lead product orvepitant, which is in a multinational Phase IIb trial for chronic refractory cough.

Mr Kay has worked in the biotechnology sector as CEO of Algeta ASA, which was sold to Bayer for $2.9bn in 2014, and as Chief Commercial Officer and a Board Director of Renovo. He started his industry career in the pharmaceutical sector, working in international roles at Novartis, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly, following a BPharm Hons degree from Nottingham University School of Pharmacy. Other current roles include Chairman of Blueberry Therapeutics, Chairman of Wilson Therapeutics and Senior Advisor to HealthCap VC. Mr Kay has also been appointed an adviser to KaNDy Therapeutics.

Dr Mary Kerr, CEO of NeRRe Therapeutics, said, "With his broad experience, Andrew's appointment as Chairman will bring tremendous value to the company as we advance orvepitant towards late-stage clinical development and commercialisation. NeRRe Therapeutics would also like to thank Kaasim for his guidance and we are pleased that he remains on the Board as Advent's representative."

Andrew Kay, Chairman of NeRRe Therapeutics, said, "With its focus on conditions caused by neuronal hypersensitivity related to neurokinin-1 receptor system dysfunction, the company has the opportunity to make a real difference in areas of unmet medical need such as chronic refractory cough. These are debilitating conditions for thousands of patients worldwide, and I am looking forward to helping NeRRe Therapeutics develop further."

About NeRRe Therapeutics (http://www.nerretherapeutics.com)

NeRRe Therapeutics is a private UK based clinical-stage company developing a unique pipeline of three neurokinin (NK)-1 antagonists for the treatment of common, chronic and debilitating conditions caused by neuronal hypersensitivity associated with neurokinin-1 receptor system dysfunction. Its portfolio is tackling a range of disorders with high unmet need including chronic refractory cough and chronic pruritus. The company is led by an experienced management team including Dr Mary Kerr (CEO), formerly SVP and Global Franchise lead at GSK and Dr Mike Trower (Co-founder, CSO/COO), formerly VP & Head of the External Drug Discovery Group in the Neurosciences CEDD at GSK.

NeRRe Therapeutics was founded in 2012 as a spin out from GSK.  Since it was founded, it has raised £31.5 million and is backed by leading international life sciences investors: Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, OrbiMed, Novo A/S, and by GSK. KaNDy Therapeutics was spun out of NeRRe Therapeutics in September 2017. NeRRe Therapeutics is based at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst.  You can find more information about NeRRe Therapeutics at http://www.nerretherapeutics.com.

KaNDy Therapeutics launched to advance a breakthrough treatment in Women's Health

First-in-class once daily NT-814 spun out of NeRRe Therapeutics into new company

Stevenage, UK - KaNDy Therapeutics has been launched today to maximise the value of NT-814, a potential breakthrough medicine for the treatment of chronic debilitating Women’s Health conditions and is backed by internationally recognised life sciences investors: Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners and OrbiMed Advisors. 

NT-814 is a first-in-class, once daily, dual mechanism neurokinin-1,3 receptor antagonist. The medicine is being developed as a non-hormonal alternative to hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal vasomotor symptoms (PMVMS). NT-814 has been spun out of NeRRe Therapeutics Holdings Ltd into KaNDy Therapeutics Ltd a separate legal entity. 

KaNDy Therapeutics will advance the development of NT-814 into Phase 2b in the lead indication PMVMS while also exploring its potential in other Women's Health conditions. All formulation, pre-clinical and clinical safety and efficacy data, and intellectual property associated with NT-814 have been transferred to the new company. KaNDy Therapeutics is led by Managing Director Mary Kerr and chaired by Iain Dukes, Venture Partner at OrbiMed Advisors. The company is based at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst in the UK. 

NT-814 has significant potential to treat multiple debilitating Women’s Health conditions by virtue of the ability to beneficially modulate dysfunctional temperature control and reproductive hormone pathways. NT-814 has already successfully completed a Phase 2a proof of concept study demonstrating its potential to reduce the frequency and severity of PMVMS, and is now being prepared to enter an international Phase 2b study in this anchor indication. 

Iain Dukes, Chairman of KaNDy Therapeutics, said, “The formation of KaNDy Therapeutics enables us to maximise the potential of NT-814 in a range of debilitating Women's Health conditions. We believe NT-814 is one of the few true innovations in Women’s Health in more than two decades and potentially represents a major breakthrough in areas of significant unmet medical need such as PMVMS. Mary has built up an excellent team who have made substantial progress with NT-814 and we're looking forward to advancing this exciting new product into a Phase 2b programme.”
 
Professor Richard Anderson, Clinical Adviser, University of Edinburgh, commented, “For many women, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes are debilitating and long-lasting, and can have a major impact on quality of life. As a potential once daily alternative to HRT without the issues surrounding hormone replacement, NT-814 could bring them considerable relief.” 

For further information, please contact:
Mary Kerr, Managing Director of KaNDy Therapeutics
Tel:  +44 1438 906960
Email: info@kandytherapeutics.com

About KaNDy Therapeutics
KaNDy Therapeutics is a UK based clinical-stage company focused on optimizing the potential of its unique NK-1,3 receptor antagonist NT-814 in the treatment of common, chronic debilitating female sex-hormone related conditions. NT-814 is in development initially as a non-hormonal therapy to treat moderate to severe post-menopausal vasomotor symptoms (PMVMS)). 

PMVMS affect up to 75% of peri-menopausal women. Symptoms last for 1–2 years after menopause in most women, but may continue for up to 10 years or longer in others. Approximately 20% of women will have debilitating symptoms. Hot flashes are the primary reason women seek medical care at menopause. Hot flashes not only disturb women at work and interrupt daily activities, but also have a detrimental effect on sleep. Post-menopausal vasomotor symptoms are experienced by millions of women globally on a daily basis.

The company is led by an experienced management team including Dr Mary Kerr (Managing Director), formerly SVP and Global Franchise lead at GSK and Dr Mike Trower (CSO/COO), formerly VP & Head of the External Drug Discovery Group in the Neurosciences CEDD at GSK and Dr Steve Pawsey (CMO) formerly at Circassia and Vernalis. 

KaNDy Therapeutics was spun out of NeRRe Therapeutics in September 2017, and is backed by internationally recognised life sciences investors: Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners and OrbiMed Advisors. KaNDy Therapeutics is based at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. You can find more information about KaNDy Therapeutics at www.kandytherapeutics.com. 

NeRRe Therapeutics raises £23million in oversubscribed Series B financing round

New funds to advance unique neurokinin receptor antagonist pipeline towards late-stage clinical development in common, chronic and debilitating respiratory and women’s health conditions.

New investors Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners and Orbimed join existing investors Advent Life Sciences, Novo A/S and GlaxoSmithKline

Stevenage, UK – NeRRe Therapeutics (‘NeRRe’), a clinical-stage company developing a unique portfolio of neurokinin (NK) receptor antagonists for the treatment of common, chronic and debilitating conditions caused by neuronal hypersensitivity, announced it has raised £23 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round.

The funds will be used by NeRRe to generate Phase 2 data on orvepitant, its lead oral NK-1 antagonist candidate as a potential new treatment for a common, chronic respiratory condition; and to advance NT-814, a dual NK-1,3 antagonist, into Phase 2 trials as a potential non-hormonal treatment of distressing post-menopausal vasomotor symptoms. 

The financing round involved a syndicate of leading transatlantic life sciences investors led by new investor Fountain Healthcare Partners, and co-led by Forbion Capital Partners and OrbiMed. Existing investors, Advent Life Sciences and Novo A/S also participated, and the round was supported by GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK).

Dr Ena Prosser, Partner at Fountain Healthcare Partners; Geert-Jan Mulder MD, General Partner at Forbion Capital Partners; and Dr Iain Dukes, Venture Partner at OrbiMed will join Dr Kaasim Mahmood, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences (Chairman), Dr Mary Kerr, NeRRe’s CEO and Jo Craig, Vice-President GSK (Board Observer) on the NeRRe Board of Directors.

OrbiMed’s Iain Dukes, formally Senior Vice President, Business Development & Licensing at Merck & Co., said: “We have been impressed by NeRRe's clear strategy, and are pleased to be involved in funding the company to deliver important Phase 2 clinical data on both of these exciting candidates. We look forward to supporting the company in achieving these aims.”

Mary Kerr, NeRRe’s CEO, said: “NeRRe is delighted to have attracted such a substantial investment from these high profile life sciences investors. Now that we are fully funded to execute the next phase of development, everyone at the company is focused on moving orvepitant and NT-814 closer to the market for the alleviation of these common, chronic and debilitating conditions.”

*Biographies of the Board of Directors can be found at www.nerretherapeutics.com

Notes to Editors About NeRRe Therapeutics (www.nerretherapeutics.com)

NeRRe Therapeutics is a private, UK-based clinical-stage company focused on the development of its unique portfolio of NK receptor antagonists for the treatment of common, chronic and debilitating conditions caused by neuronal hypersensitivity. 

NeRRe Therapeutics was founded in 2012 as a spin out from GSK, which transferred its NK antagonist portfolio, including clinical data, toxicity, safety and formulation packages, and all associated IP to NeRRe. NeRRe is led by an experienced management team including Dr Mary Kerr (CEO), formerly SVP and Global Franchise lead at GSK and Dr Mike Trower (Co-founder, CSO/COO), formerly VP & Head of the External Drug Discovery Group in the Neurosciences CEDD at GSK.

NeRRe Therapeutics is backed by leading international life sciences investors: Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, Orbimed, Novo A/S, and by GSK. 

NeRRe is based at the state-of-the-art Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (www.stevenagecatalyst.com), the UK’s first open innovation bioscience campus.

About Fountain Healthcare Partners

Fountain Healthcare Partners is a life science focused venture capital fund with €176 million ($200 million) under management. Within the life science sector, specific areas of interest to Fountain include specialty pharma, medical devices, biotechnology and diagnostics. The firm deploys the majority of its capital in Europe, with the balance in the United States. Fountain’s main office is in Dublin, Ireland, with a second office in New York. www.fh-partners.com

About Forbion Capital Partners

Forbion Capital Partners is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands and Germany. Forbion invests in life sciences companies in the pharmaceutical, as well as the medical device space. Forbion’s investment team has built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in multiple companies. With the new FCFIII fund, Forbion manages well over EUR 700M across six funds, including the new fund FCF III. Its investors include the EIF through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA and Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI) facilities and the KFW through the ERP - Venture Capital Fondsfinanzierung facility. Forbion also operates a joint venture with BioGeneration Ventures, who manages two separate seed and early stage funds focused on Benelux. For further information please visit www.forbion.com.

About OrbiMed

OrbiMed is a leading investment firm dedicated exclusively to the healthcare sector, with over $16 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the spectrum of healthcare companies, from venture capital start-ups to large multinational companies utilizing a range of private equity funds, public equity funds, royalty/debt funds and other investment vehicles. OrbiMed maintains its headquarters in New York City, with additional offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, Mumbai and Herzliya.

As the largest investment firm dedicated to the healthcare sector globally, OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice. OrbiMed has the flexibility to provide equity and debt capital along with the global team resources required to be an exceptional long-term partner for building world-class healthcare companies. www.OrbiMed.com

About Advent Life Sciences

Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of 16 professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the US and Europe, and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The Firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France. For more information, please visit www.AdventLS.com 

For more information, please contact:

Mary Kerr, CEO of NeRRe Therapeutics
Tel:  +44 1438 906960
Email: info@nerretherapeutics.com 

Katja Stout/Mark Swallow, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +44 20 7282 1066/2948
Email: NeRRe@citigatedr.co.uk