REG-Syncona Limited: Syncona leads US$80m Autolus Series C investment round <Origin Href="QuoteRef">SYNCS.L</Origin>

SynconaAnnouncement

26/09/2017 07:06

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF ARTICLE 7 OF
THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO.596/2014

Syncona Limited

Syncona leads US$80m Autolus Series C investment round

26 September 2017
* Syncona leads $80 million Series C investment round in Autolus, contributing
US$29.2 million (£21.7 million) 1 
* Syncona investment in Autolus written up by £19.2 million (2.9p per share)
to £88.6 million(1) while its ownership stake in the business has increased
to 38.4 per cent
* $25 million in funding raised from specialist global institutional investors
Syncona Ltd (“Syncona”), a leading healthcare company focused on investing
in and building global leaders in life science, today announces that its
portfolio company Autolus has completed a US$80 million Series C funding
round. Autolus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the
development and commercialisation of next-generation engineered CAR-T cell
therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Syncona was the single largest investor in the $80 million investment round,
contributing $29.2 million (£21.7 million)(1). Syncona also acquired
additional shares worth £6.5 million from an existing shareholder.  As part
of the round, $25 million was raised from leading new global institutional
investors Cormorant Asset Management, Nextech Invest and others.

The funding round resulted in a write-up of Syncona’s investment in Autolus
to £88.6 million, a £19.2 million (2.9p per share) uplift to Syncona’s
proforma valuation of £41.2 million, including a further £5 million
outstanding contribution from the Series B. Following the transaction,
Syncona’s ownership of Autolus has increased by 1.5 per cent to 38.4 per
cent on a fully diluted basis

Autolus was founded by Syncona in 2014 based on programmes and technologies
from the laboratory of Dr Martin Pule, a clinical haematologist and leader in
the field of engineered T-cell therapies. The business has since grown to
around 100 employees led by a highly experienced management team at its
headquarters in West London. Employing innovative T-cell programming and
manufacturing technologies, Autolus is developing first or best in class CAR-T
treatments with curative potential in cancer. It is developing an advanced
commercial platform to support the rollout of these programmes, including
significant investments in building an integrated end-to-end service model.
The funds will enable Autolus to advance its globally differentiated
clinical-stage pipeline while building advanced infrastructure to bring its
CAR T-cell therapy rapidly and successfully to market.

Syncona’s Chief Executive Officer, Life Sciences, and founding Autolus Board
Member, Martin Murphy, said: “Autolus is at the forefront of a revolution in
cancer treatment that aims to improve the survival of patients. Since Syncona
founded the business three years ago it has made excellent progress, and the
quality of the institutional investors attracted in this funding round are
testament to the strength of the business. We look forward to continuing to
support Autolus as it executes its plan to deliver transformational treatments
to patients."

Autolus Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Christian Itin, said, “Autolus
is focused on developing differentiated CAR-T treatments with curative
potential. This successful investment round will enable us to evaluate our
clinical programs in blood cancers with the goal to establish clinical proof
of concept and get our first programs for the treatment of solid tumors to
clinical stage using our advanced cell programming technology. Autolus has an
experienced and commercially driven management team, with strong investor
support, and we are all driven to bring this new class of promising therapies
to cancer patients.”

 Syncona valuation at 31 July 2017        £36.2m               
 Call down of remaining Series B funding  £5.0m                
 Participation in Series C                £21.7m (1)($29.2m)   
 Valuation uplift                         £19.2m (1)           
 Acquisition of additional shares         £6.5m                
 Total Syncona valuation                  £88.6m (1)           

 ENDS 

Enquiries

Syncona Ltd
Siobhan Weaver
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7611 2031

Tulchan Communications
Martin Robinson
Lisa Jarrett-Kerr
Tel: +44 (0) 207 353 4200

Copies of this press release and other corporate information can be found on
the company website at: www.synconaltd.com  

Forward-looking statements – this announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements with respect to the portfolio of investments of
Syncona Ltd. These statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that may or may
not occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual
results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements and forecasts. Nothing in this
announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. 

About Syncona:

Syncona is a leading FTSE250 healthcare company focused on investing in and
building global leaders in life science. Our vision is to deliver
transformational treatments to patients in truly innovative areas of
healthcare while generating superior returns for shareholders. Our current
investment portfolio consists of seven high quality companies in life science
and a leading range of fund investments.  We seek to partner with the best,
brightest and most ambitious minds in science to build globally competitive
businesses. We are established leaders in gene therapy, cell therapy and
advanced diagnostics, and focus on delivering dramatic efficacy for patients
in areas of high unmet need.

Our market leading funds portfolio seeks to generate superior returns by
investing in long only and alternative investment funds. This represents a
productively deployed evergreen funding base which enables us to take a long
term approach to investing in life sciences as we target the best new
opportunities and support our existing portfolio companies to grow and
succeed.

Syncona is aligned with two of the premium charitable funders in UK science,
the Wellcome Trust, original founder of Syncona, and Cancer Research UK, both
of which are significant shareholders in our business.  We make a donation of
0.3% of Net Asset Value to a range of charities each year.

About Autolus:

Autolus is a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company, focused on the
development and commercialisation of engineered T-cell immunotherapy products
to combat cancer. Utilising its advanced cell programming and manufacturing
technologies, Autolus has a pipeline of products in development for the
treatment of both haematological malignancies and solid tumours. For further
information please visit the Company’s website at: www.autolus.com

About CAR-T therapy:

CAR-T therapy involves re-programming a patient’s immune system to kill
tumour cells. T-cells, a type of white blood cell, are extracted from a
patient’s blood, manipulated outside the body to incorporate the CAR gene,
and then returned to the patient by infusion. The CAR gene introduces a
targeting mechanism to the T-cells, enabling them to recognise, engage and
destroy tumour cells in a highly specific manner.

Clinical trials of CAR T-cells in multiple myeloma and B-cell malignancies,
including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, suggest that this approach may transform
treatment of cancer patients, many of whom have no other therapeutic options.

 1  At foreign exchange rates as at 25 September 2017



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