Date: 2015-10-27
Type of information: Private placement
Company: Oryzon Genomics (Spain)
Investors: Bank Solventis (UK) Catalan Institut of Finances (ICF) (Spain) Joseph Fernandez (USA)
Amount: $19 million
Funding type: private placement
Planned used: The proceeds will be used to advance Oryzon’s two therapeutic programs, ORY-1001 and ORY-2001, and also to accelerate earlier-stage programs focused on other epigenetic targets. Oryzon’s lead asset ORY-1001 for acute myeloid leukemia will begin patient enrollment of its Phase IIA clinical trial. Oryzon has a global strategic collaboration with Roche for ORY-1001 with a potential value of more than $500 million. Oryzon is also advancing its research in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and other dementias with the development of the ORY-2001 molecule. This molecule, which focuses on cognitive decline and
memory loss, is expected to begin human clinical trials in early 2016.
Others: * On October 27, 2015, Oryzon Genomics announced the completion of a $19 million private placement. Oryzon issued a total of 4.9 million new common shares at a price of € 3.39 in the private placement led by Bank Solventis AV, which values the company at $110 million post-transaction. The new shareholders, who now control 17% of the Company’s outstanding shares, include MAB-Capital Fund from Catalan Institut of Finances (ICF) and Mr. Joseph Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of Active Motif, a U.S. firm specializing in epigenetics, who was also a founder of Invitrogen, a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company that is now a division of Thermo Fisher Scientific, who has acquired 1% of the company in the transaction.
After this transaction, the founders of Oryzon, Carlos Buesa and Tamara Maes, together control 26.3% of the company, while Najeti Capital holds 24.6% and 15% of the shares separately at different Family Offices. Other significant previous shareholders include the Costex Family Office at 6.5% ownership, Corporation Sant Bernat SCR at 3.8% and Grupo Ferrer, the third largest Spanish pharmaceutical company, at 2.7%.
In September, Oryzon\'s shareholders voted to list 100% of the shares of the company on the Madrid Stock Exchange with expectations to dual list on the NASDAQ in the future. The Company expects to list on the Madrid Stock Exchange before year-end.
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Neurodegenerative diseases
