Arix Bioscience plc Artios completes GBP65m Series B investment round

 
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                              Arix Bioscience plc 
 
                Artios completes GBP65m Series B investment round 
 
  Arix interest increased to GBP15.3 million ($19.7 million1), becoming largest 
                             shareholder in Artios 
 
     Supporting proven management team in accelerating development of next 
                 generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) pipeline 
 
LONDON, 10 August, 2018: Arix Bioscience plc ("Arix", LSE: ARIX) a global 
healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation, today 
announces that its Group Business Artios Pharma Limited ("Artios"), a leading 
DNA Damage Response (DDR) company developing innovative treatments for cancer, 
has completed an oversubscribed GBP65 million ($84 million1) Series B financing 
(the "Financing") following strong interest from investors. 
 
As part of the Financing, Arix: 
 
  * Committed to invest GBP8 million ($10.3 million[1]) over two tranches; 
 
  * Completed its remaining GBP1.5 million ($1.9 million1) Series A commitment; 
    and 
 
  * Invested a further GBP0.6 million ($0.8 million1) by purchasing a stake from 
    an existing shareholder. 
 
Following this investment, Arix becomes the largest shareholder in Artios, 
retaining a 12.4% stake on a fully diluted basis. Arix's Jonathan Tobin will 
continue to serve on the Artios Board. 
 
The financing recognised a 26% uplift in the book value of Arix's Series A 
investment in Artios, with Arix's total interest in Artios increasing to GBP15.3 
million from GBP5.1 million. 
 
The new funds will enable Artios to advance its portfolio of first-in-class, 
small molecule DDR programmes, including its lead programme targeting DNA 
polymerase theta (Pol?), through clinical proof of concept trials. 
 
New global institutional investors Andera Partners, Life Sciences Partners, 
Pfizer Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund joined the Series B round. In 
addition to Arix, Artios' existing shareholders SV Health Investors, M 
Ventures, IP Group plc and AbbVie Ventures also participated in the round. 
 
Joe Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Arix Bioscience plc, commented: 
"Artios is actively developing a pipeline of highly promising, first-in-class 
DDR therapies which have the potential to bring real impact to cancer patients. 
We are delighted to support this proven management team, which during their 
tenure at KuDOS (successfully sold to AstraZeneca) played a key role in the 
discovery and early development of olaparib, the first approved DDR therapy and 
PARP inhibitor, now used to treat ovarian and breast cancer, creating a billion 
dollar market. As early investors in Artios, we are excited to continue working 
with the team and this group of renowned investors to build a world leading DDR 
company and create significant value for both patients and investors." 
 
Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Artios added: "Arix is focused on 
supporting innovation and creating and building world class companies. They 
were instrumental in putting together this stellar investor syndicate and we 
value their continued support as we progress the development of our novel DDR 
programmes." 
 
                                     ENDS 
 
Enquiries 
 
For more information on Arix, please contact: 
 
Arix Bioscience plc 
 
Charlotte Parry, Head of Investor Relations 
 
[phone] 
 
[e-mail] 
 
Optimum Strategic Communications 
 
Mary Clark, Supriya Mathur, Hollie Vile 
 
[phone] 
 
[e-mail] 
 
Burns McClellan (US Media & IR Enquiries) 
 
Lisa Burns, John Grimaldi, Bill Slattery Jr., Nancie Steinberg 
 
[phone] 
 
[e-mail] 
 
About Arix Bioscience plc 
 
Arix Bioscience plc is a global healthcare and life science company supporting 
medical innovation. Headquartered in London and with an office in New York, 
Arix Bioscience sources, finances and builds world class healthcare and life 
science businesses addressing medical innovation at all stages of development. 
Operations are supported by privileged access to breakthrough academic science 
and strategic relationships with leading research accelerators and global 
pharmaceutical companies. 
 
Arix Bioscience plc is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. 
For further information, please visit www.arixbioscience.com 
 
About Artios Pharma Limited 
 
Artios is a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company focused on developing 
first-in-class treatments for cancer. The Company, founded by SV Health 
Investors in 2016, is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with 
proven expertise in DDR drug discovery. It has a unique partnership with Cancer 
Research UK (CRUK), and collaborations with leading DNA repair researchers 
worldwide, such as the National Centre for Biomolecular Research at Masaryk 
University. Artios is building a pipeline of next-generation DDR programmes to 
target hard to treat cancers. Backed by blue chip investors including: Arix 
Bioscience plc - the largest shareholder in Artios, SV Health Investors, M 
Ventures, IP Group plc, AbbVie Ventures, Andera Partners (formerly EdRIP), LSP 
(Life Science Partners), Pfizer Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund (NVF). 
Artios is based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK. 
www.artiospharma.com 
 
[1] At exchange rate on 9 August 2018 
 
 
 
END 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)