On April 30, 2024 SynOx Therapeutics Limited ("SynOx" or the "Company"), the late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company developing emactuzumab for the treatment of Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumour (TGCT) and other diseases, reported it has entered into a $35m loan facility with Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) ("Hercules") (Press release, SynOx Therapeutics, APR 30, 2024, View Source [SID1234642470]).
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The transaction strengthens the Company’s balance sheet as it executes TANGENT, a registrational Phase 3 study of emactuzumab, SynOx’s potentially best-in-class CSF-1(R) inhibiting monoclonal antibody (mAb) for the treatment of TGCT.
This loan facility provides SynOx with flexibility to fund additional clinical work in TGCT to augment TANGENT, activities to support the successful registration and commercialisation of emactuzumab in TGCT, and potentially to explore the use of emactuzumab in other CSF-1 driven and macrophage-mediated diseases.
The term loan facility provides up to $35m, in total, in four tranches. The initial tranche was drawn on signing, with subsequent tranches available over the medium term and upon achievement of certain clinical milestones.
Ray Barlow, Chief Executive Officer of SynOx Therapeutics, said: "This funding will provide SynOx with additional capital to fulfil its mission of establishing emactuzumab as a best-in-class drug, to address significant unmet medical needs and greatly improve the quality of life for as many patients as possible. We are grateful for the support from Hercules, which together with the $75m we raised recently in our Series B round, puts SynOx on a strong financial footing."
R. Bryan Jadot, Senior Managing Director and Group Head – Life Sciences, Hercules, said: "We have been impressed by the quality of data SynOx has already generated on emactuzumab, which demonstrate it to be highly differentiated from other CSF-1 inhibiting drugs in development. Emactuzumab is showing great promise in treating TGCT, and we believe it has the potential to treat other related conditions as well."
TGCT is a type of tumour that affects the soft tissue lining of joints and tendons. It is a highly debilitating disease that often impacts large, important joints such as the knee, hip and ankle. It seriously impacts quality of life by causing significant pain and stiffness in affected joints and limiting range of motion. While most patients receive surgical intervention, more than 50% of patients with diffuse disease experience tumour recurrence within three years of surgery [1].
Emactuzumab, a novel next-generation CSF-1R mAb with a potentially best-in-class profile, has demonstrated substantial clinical activity in earlier clinical work in TGCT [2], with an objective response rate (ORR) of 71%, rapid and robust tumour reduction, a long duration of effect, significant improvements in functional ability, good tolerability and a manageable safety profile. The Phase 3 TANGENT trial will assess its safety and efficacy in patients with localized and diffuse TGCT.