REG - Syncona Limited - Purespring Therapeutics Series B financing

SynconaAnnouncement

09/10/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 4190H  Syncona Limited  09 October 2024

9 October 2024

 

Syncona Limited

 

Purespring Therapeutics raises £80 million in a Series B financing

 

·      Purespring raises £80 million in a Series B financing, with
Syncona committing £19.9 million 1  (#_ftn1) as part of a leading syndicate
of life science investors

·      Proceeds will be used to advance Purespring's strong pipeline of
disease modifying gene therapies focused on kidney diseases towards clinical
development, with clinical entry expected in CY2026

·      Syncona's total interest in Purespring is valued at £51.2
million 2  (#_ftn2)

·      On drawdown of the full Series B financing, Syncona's ownership
stake in the business will be 38.1 per cent 3  (#_ftn3)

 

Syncona Ltd, ("Syncona" or the "Company") a leading life science investor
focused on creating, building and scaling global leaders in life science,
today announces that its portfolio company Purespring Therapeutics
("Purespring"), a pioneering gene therapy company focused on transforming the
treatment of kidney diseases has raised £80 million in an oversubscribed
Series B financing. Syncona has committed £19.9 million as part of a leading
Series B syndicate, led by Sofinnova, in collaboration with Gilde Healthcare,
Forbion, and British Patient Capital.

 

Syncona founded Purespring in 2020 as one of the first adeno-associated virus
("AAV") gene therapy companies focused on the kidney. Since foundation
Purespring has made considerable progress in making gene therapies for
patients with kidney diseases a reality and has maintained a world leading
position in the field. The company has generated encouraging pre-clinical data
validating the therapeutic potential of its technology and has developed a
strong chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) platform that will support
future clinical development and commercialisation. The company's technology
has potential in a broad range of kidney diseases.

 

This latest financing brings the total amount that Purespring has raised in
funding to date to approximately £115 million. Proceeds will be used to
advance Purespring's strong pipeline of disease modifying gene therapies into
the clinic and support the expected initiation of a Phase I/II clinical trial
in CY2026 for its lead programme PS-002 targeting IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), a
chronic kidney disease principally affecting young adults. IgAN is a serious
disease where nearly one third of patients lose their kidney function within
five years and require kidney transplantation or dialysis.

 

Syncona's £19.9 million Series B commitment includes the final £9.9 million
tranche of its Series A commitment 4  (#_ftn4) and an additional £10.0
million commitment, of which £5.0 million has now been invested. Syncona's
interest in Purespring is now valued at £51.2 million 5  (#_ftn5) ,
incorporating capital invested by Syncona in Purespring plus £4.5 million of
value attributed to rights held for a royalty relating to the company's lead
programme. Value was attributed to this royalty as part of the Series B
financing. Upon full drawdown of the Series B financing, Syncona's ownership
stake in the business will be 38.1 per cent.

 

Michael Kyriakides, Investment Partner at Syncona Investment Management
Limited and Board Director of Purespring Therapeutics, said: "Syncona founded
Purespring with the vision of creating the world's leading kidney gene therapy
company and we have been impressed with its progress. Today's financing and
the strong syndicate of investors that the company has attracted broadens
Purespring's financial scale and clearly validates its technology, strategy
and execution to date. We look forward to working alongside Purespring and its
new syndicate as it prepares for its Phase I/II clinical trial."

 

Julian Hanak, Chief Executive Officer of Purespring Therapeutics, said:
"Nearly one tenth of the world's population, around 840 million people, suffer
from chronic kidney disease. For many of them, there are few options beyond
dialysis and transplantation. Our novel treatment platform and deep
understanding of kidney disease puts us in a position to stop, reverse and
even cure kidney disease. The funds raised will allow us to bring our novel
treatments to patients in the clinic. I'm really pleased to be able to welcome
such a high-quality investor syndicate to support Purespring on this journey.
Having sophisticated, experienced and committed investors on board, who
understand drug development and the urgency of bringing these much-needed
therapies to patients will maximise the opportunities for the company and the
patients we treat."

 

 

 ENDS 

 

Enquiries

 

Syncona Ltd

 

Natalie Garland-Collins / Fergus Witt

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3981 7912

 

FTI Consulting

 

Ben Atwell / Tim Stamper

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1000

 

About Syncona

 

Syncona's purpose is to invest to extend and enhance human life. We do this by
creating, building and scaling companies to deliver transformational
treatments to patients in areas of high unmet need.

We aim to build and maintain a diversified portfolio of 20-25 globally leading
life science businesses, across development stage, modality and therapeutic
area, for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We focus on developing
treatments that deliver patient impact by working in close partnership with
world-class academic founders and experienced management teams. Our balance
sheet underpins our strategy, enabling us to take a long-term view as we look
to improve the lives of patients with no or poor treatment options, build
sustainable life science companies and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to
shareholders.

Syncona Limited seeks to achieve returns over the long term. Investors should
seek to ensure they understand the risks and opportunities of an investment in
Syncona Limited, including the information in our published documentation,
before investing.

 

About Purespring

Purespring is developing gene therapies to halt or prevent kidney disease, one
of humankind's most poorly treated disease areas.

Founded on the work of Professor Moin Saleem, Professor of Paediatric Renal
Medicine at the University of Bristol, Purespring is the first company to
successfully treat kidney disease by targeting the podocyte, a specialised
cell that is implicated in the majority of renal disease. Purespring's
platform approach enables streamlined gene therapy development for both
monogenic and non-monogenic renal diseases, offering the potential to halt,
reverse and even cure both rare and common kidney diseases.

The Company currently has a pipeline of programmes in development including
the lead asset for treatment of IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) and other complement
mediated kidney disease. The Company also has programmes for diseases caused
by mutations in the gene NPHS2, as well as other monogenic glomerular kidney
disease.

Based in London, the Purespring team combines world-leading expertise in
podocyte biology and kidney disease with a wealth of experience in gene
therapies, anchored in a culture of diversity, creativity and delivery.

Purespring is backed by leading biotech investors, including Syncona Limited,
Sofinnova Partners, Gilde Healthcare, Forbion, and British Patient Capital and
has raised £115M to date.

 

For more information please visit: purespringtx.com
(https://purespringtx.com/) and follow us on LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/purespring-therapeutics/) .

(( 1  (#_ftnref1) )) Syncona's £19.9 million Series B commitment includes the
final £9.9 million tranche of Syncona's Series A commitment. The total
commitment by Syncona across the Series A and B financings is £55.0 million.

(( 2  (#_ftnref2) )) Including the £5.0 million of new capital invested since
30 June 2024.

(( 3  (#_ftnref3) )) Percentage holding reflects Syncona's ownership stake at
the point full current commitments are invested.

 4  (#_ftnref4) This £9.9 million tranche has been invested and was included
in Syncona's 30 June 2024 valuation of Purespring.

 5  (#_ftnref5) The valuation of Syncona's interest in Purespring at 30 June
2024 was £45.5 million.

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