Ganymed Pharmaceuticals Closes EUR 45 Million Financing Round
Mainz, Germany, November 18, 2013 / B3C newswire / - Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing highly selective Ideal Monoclonal Antibodies (IMABs) for the treatment of cancer, announced today the completion of a EUR 45 million Series E financing from existing investors ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH, MIG Fond, and FCPB Gany GmbH.
Ganymed will use the proceeds to accelerate the clinical development of its lead program IMAB362, including completion of the ongoing Phase IIa and IIb clinical trials in gastroesophageal cancer, and to prepare this first-in-class antibody for a Phase III study. Concomitantly, the Company will clinically validate its IVD test, CLAUDETECT™18.2, as a predictive companion diagnostic test to IMAB362.
The financing will also allow Ganymed to conduct a Phase I/II clinical study of IMAB027 in ovarian cancer and develop a companion diagnostic test for this antibody.
“We are very pleased that in the space of just three years, the Ganymed team has made immense progress in the clinical development of its lead program. In all clinical studies done so far, IMAB362 has shown exciting anticancer activity and safety data, suggesting that this antibody may well represent a breakthrough in the treatment of solid cancers,” said Thomas Strüngmann of ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung.
Prof. Rolf Krebs, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ganymed, commented: “The successful completion of this financing round is a strong testimony to the continuing solid commitment of Ganymed’s investors to the Company. We are truly excited that this financing allows us to accelerate the development of IMAB362, for which we have achieved promising preliminary results in the Phase IIa study earlier this year.”
About Ganymed
Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG is a biopharmaceutical company with the mission of revolutionizing cancer treatment by developing a new class of therapeutic drugs called Ideal Monoclonal Antibodies (IMABs). IMABs are unique in that they are highly selective for proteins which are present on tumor cells, but do not bind to healthy cells. This unmatched tumor cell specificity makes IMABs cancer cell selective allowing them to efficiently kill tumor cells without harming normal healthy tissues. They can thus be administered at optimal dose and have a broad therapeutic window with reduced risks of side effects.
Ganymed’s lead program, IMAB362, is in advanced phase II testing for gastroesophageal cancer. IMAB362 binds to the tight junction protein Claudin-18.2 which is expressed in up to 80% of gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas, 60% of pancreatic tumors as well as in other various solid tumors.
Ganymed is also developing IMAB027, a monoclonal antibody targeting GT512 which is absent in healthy adult organs, but is expressed in a wide range of solid cancers, including testicular, ovarian, uterine, and lung cancers. The company plans to initiate clinical studies with IMAB027 in the near future.
Ganymed is a private company that was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from the Universities of Mainz and Zurich. Its majority shareholder is ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH. Other investors include Future Capital AG, MIG Fonds, FCPB Gany GmbH, and private individuals.
Contact Information
Dr. Luc St-Onge
Business Development
Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG
Freiligrathstrasse 12
55131 Mainz
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)6131 1440 100
E-mail: info@ganymed.ag
Media Contact
Frank Butschbacher, CIR
Investor Relations & Communications
Tel.: +43 650 78 44 940
E-mail: office@butschbacher.net
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