Amplyx Pharmaceuticals Raises $67 Million in Series C Financing
Funds to support clinical development of APX001, compound with novel mechanism to treat life-threatening fungal infections
SAN DIEGO – August 2, 2017 – Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, a company developing novel antifungal agents for life-threatening fungal infections, today announced that it has raised $67 million through a Series C financing led by Sofinnova Venture Partners and including other new investors Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Arix Bioscience and Pappas Capital. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates, RiverVest Venture Partners, 3×5 RiverVest II and BioMed Ventures also participated in the financing. In conjunction with the financing, Anand Mehra, M.D., managing partner at Sofinnova Ventures, and Johan Kördel, Ph.D., senior partner at Lundbeckfonden Ventures, will join the Amplyx board of directors.
“The strong interest from such high-quality investors further validates our confidence in the potential of our lead drug candidate to combat deadly fungal infections, which pose a serious risk to immunocompromised patients,” said Ciara Kennedy, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals. “Our new investors understand the critical unmet medical need and share Amplyx’s vision of accelerating the development of new treatment options for patients who are faced with these life-threatening infections.”
Amplyx will use the proceeds of the financing to advance the clinical development of APX001, the company’s broad-spectrum antifungal agent, to treat life threatening fungal infections. Intravenous and oral formulations of APX001 have been evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical program, with Phase 2 clinical trials in invasive aspergillosis and invasive candidiasis planned for initiation later this year.
“We have been impressed with Amplyx’s rapid progress and believe the company has a talented and committed team in place to develop this critical asset to reach patients and the market quickly,” said Dr. Mehra. “We look forward to working with Amplyx as they move APX001 into the next phase of development.”
About APX001
APX001 is the prodrug of APX001A, which is a first-in-class small molecule drug candidate that inhibits the conserved fungal enzyme Gwt1, compromising growth of major fungal pathogens, including Candida and Aspergillus. APX001A has been evaluated extensively in preclinical studies, demonstrating broad-spectrum activity against common species of Candida spp., and Aspergillus spp., including multi drug resistant strains, and rare, difficult-to-treat molds including Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., and fungi from the Mucorales order.
About Amplyx Pharmaceuticals
Amplyx Pharmaceuticals is developing novel, broad-spectrum antifungal agents for the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections. Amplyx has raised $118.5 million in venture capital and secured more than $10 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health to support its drug discovery and development efforts. For more information, please visit www.amplyx.com.
About Sofinnova
Founded in 1974, Sofinnova specializes in clinical and late preclinical investments in biopharmaceutical products. Our goal is to actively partner with entrepreneurs across all stages of company development. We seek to build world class companies that aspire to dramatically improve the current state of medical care and the lives of patients through bringing innovative products to market. For more information, please visit www.sofinnova.com
