On June 5, 2020 Everest Medicines, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Greater China and other parts of Asia, reported that it has successfully completed US$310 million in Series C financing (Press release, Everest Medicines, JUN 5, 2020, View Source [SID1234560865]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
The US$310 million Series C financing includes two preferred equity financing tranches, a US$260 million Series C-2 and a US$50 million Series C-1. The Series C-2 was led by Janchor Partners and co-led by RA Capital Management and Hillhouse Capital with additional support from new investors, including Decheng Capital, GT Fund, Janus Henderson Investors, Rock Springs Capital, Octagon Investments and a large, reputable long-term investor. Existing investors, including CBC Group, Cormorant, Pavilion Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments also participated. The Series C-1 comprised of a US$50 million investment from the Jiashan SDIC, which was part of a broader strategic partnership with Jiashan National Economic and Technological Development Zone and Jiashan SDIC announced on March 17, 2020.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance clinical development of Everest Medicines’ robust pipeline of novel therapeutic candidates and build out a strong commercial infrastructure to support the next phase of growth. To date, the Company has made important progress with its broad pipeline.
– TrodelvyTM (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) is a first-in-class anti-Trop-2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved in the US for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received at least two prior therapies. The Company received a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) approval in China for sacituzumab govitecan in mTNBC in April 2020, with plans to initiate clinical development in multiple solid tumor indications.
– XeravaTM (eravacycline) is a novel, fully synthetic, broad-spectrum parenteral antibiotic of the tetracycline class that has shown broad in vitro activity against Gram-negative pathogens that have acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) and are prevalent in China. Xerava is currently approved for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) in the US and EU. The Company received approval in Singapore for eravacycline in cIAI in April 2020. The Company is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial in China for cIAI to support regulatory approval.
– Etrasimod is a potential best-in-class oral modulator of the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor (S1PR). The Company is conducting a multi-center Phase 3 clinical trial in ulcerative colitis in Mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan.
– Taniborbactam is a parenteral, potential best-in-class, cyclic boronate compound that inhibits both serine and metallo-ß-lactamases. The Company and its licensing partner, Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, are conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial for patients with complicated urinary tract infections.
– Ralinepag XR is a potential best-in-class extended release agonist of the IP receptor that allows convenient oral dosing for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The Company is conducting a global Phase 3 clinical trial in PAH in collaboration with its licensing partner United Therapeutics.
– Nefecon is a potential first-in-disease product for the treatment of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In December 2019, the Company received a CTA approval for Nefecon in IgAN. The Company will join the global Phase 3 clinical trial in collaboration with its licensing partner Calliditas Therapeutics.
– FGF401 is a potential first-in-class, ATP-competitive, reversible-covalent inhibitor of FGFR4 for which the Company obtained global rights from Novartis. The CTA for a Phase 1b/2 trial in China in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was approved in March 2020.
– SPR206 is a potential best-in-class, novel polymyxin derivative that was designed to reduce the kidney toxicity that is seen clinically with polymyxin B and colistin.
"This is an important milestone for Everest Medicines that reinforces our deep industry expertise and strategic business model to in-license global innovation for the development of critical therapies in Greater China and Asia. We are well-positioned to advance the clinical development of our robust therapeutics pipeline, which spans a number of important diseases, and we look forward to building a strong foundation on which we will grow our commercial business," said Kerry Blanchard, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Everest Medicines.
"Everest Medicines has made remarkable progress securing strategic partnerships with established industry leaders to build and develop its promising therapeutics pipeline," said John Ho, Founder and Chief Industrialist Investor of Janchor Partners. "We are excited to partner with Everest to support its mission to deliver innovative therapies to patients with life-threatening diseases in China."
"We are proud of what Everest has achieved in such a short period since its inception in late 2017," said Wei Fu, Chairman of Everest Medicines and Chief Executive Officer of CBC Group, which incubated the Company. "The strong network of investors validates Everest Medicines’ early achievements, as well as their confidence in Everest’s potential to grow into a leading innovative drug platform company in the region."
"We are pleased to be joined by this exceptional group of leading global biopharma institutional investors and look forward to partnering with them during this exciting and important period of growth for Everest Medicines," said Ian Woo, President and Chief Financial Officer of Everest Medicines.
About Everest Medicines
Everest Medicines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing transformative pharmaceutical products that address critical unmet medical needs for patients in Greater China and other Asian markets. The management team of Everest Medicines has deep expertise and an extensive track record of high-quality clinical development, regulatory affairs, CMC, business development and operations both in China and with leading global pharmaceutical companies.
Everest Medicines has built a portfolio of eight potentially global first-in-class or best-in-class molecules, many of which are in late stage clinical development. The Company’s therapeutic areas of interest include oncology, autoimmune disorders, cardio-renal diseases and infectious diseases. Currently, four assets are in clinical trials designed for registration in China and two additional assets will start registrational trials in 2020.