Date: 2015-08-19
Type of information: Series A financing round
Company: Orbus Therapeutics (USA - CA)
Investors: Longitude Capital, H.I.G. BioVentures Adams Street Partners. Dr. Ernest Mario
Amount: $32.5 million
Funding type: series A financing round
Planned used: Orbus Therapeutics Secures $32.5 Million Series A Financing to Advance Late-Stage Brain
Cancer Drug
-- Proceeds to fund Company through top-line Phase 3 data in patients with
recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma --
Palo Alto, Calif., August 19, 2015 – Orbus Therapeutics Inc., a private, clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies
that treat rare diseases, today announced the completion of a $32.5 million Series A financing.
The funding will enable Orbus Therapeutics to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its
promising therapeutic product candidate, eflornithine.
The Series A financing was led by Longitude Capital, H.I.G. BioVentures and Adams Street
Partners. Dr. Ernest Mario also participated in the financing and has accepted the position of
Chairman of the Board. Dr. Mario is currently Chairman of Capnia, Inc. and Chimerix, Inc., and
was formerly Deputy Chairman of Glaxo Holdings plc, and Chairman and CEO of ALZA
Corporation.
“We are pleased with the support of our high-quality investors, and we are now well-positioned
to fund our operations through the pivotal Phase 3 trial in patients with recurrent anaplastic
astrocytoma,” said Bob Myers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Orbus Therapeutics.
“We look forward to collaborating with the country’s leading brain cancer treatment centers to
evaluate this innovative new treatment, which we hope will improve the survival of these
patients.”
“The Orbus management team has a successful track record building new businesses,
developing and commercializing innovative products, and delivering value to shareholders, and
we are excited to be backing their new venture,” said Patrick Enright, Managing Director of
Longitude Capital. “The Orbus co-founders are well known to us from our investment in Jazz
Pharmaceuticals, where they had key leadership roles. The investor syndicate is excited to fund
this late-stage compound with encouraging efficacy data in patients with a rare and deadly
disease.“
About Eflornithine Clinical Results
In controlled, randomized and single arm clinical studies, eflornithine has shown an increase in
overall survival (OS) of patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma.
In these clinical trials, the primary and reversible side effects seen from eflornithine therapy in a
small percentage of patients were diarrhea and hearing loss. None of the patients discontinued
therapy due to side effects.
The Company received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for eflornithine from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014. A drug may receive BTD if it is intended to treat a
serious or life-threatening disease, and preliminary clinical evidence suggests that it provides a
substantial improvement over existing therapies.
About Anaplastic Glioma (AG)
In the United States, approximately 3,600 new cases of anaplastic glioma (AG) are diagnosed
each year with a median survival of just over three years despite treatment with surgery,
radiation and chemotherapy. The prevalence of AG in the United States is estimated to be
approximately 20,000 people.
Anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) is the largest subset of AG, and represents approximately 75
percent of AG patients. There are approximately 2,500 new AA cases diagnosed in the United
States each year.
About Orbus Therapeutics
Orbus Therapeutics Inc., a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is dedicated to
developing products that treat rare diseases for which there are few, if any, effective therapies.
The Company’s product candidate in clinical development is eflornithine. Eflornithine is a novel
cytostatic agent, which the Company is developing to treat patients with recurrent anaplastic
astrocytoma (rAA), a rare form of central nervous system cancer. Eflornithine irreversibly
inhibits ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in mammalian polyamine biosynthesis
that is up-regulated in certain types of cancer. For more information, please visit the Company's
website at http://www.orbustherapeutics.com
Investor Contact:
Jason Levin, COO
jason.levin@orbustherapeutics.com
650.656.9440
Media Contact:
Denise Powell
denise@redhousecomms.com
510.703.9491
###
Source: Orbus Therapeutics, Inc.
Others: Orbus Therapeutics Secures $32.5 Million Series A Financing to Advance Late-Stage Brain
Cancer Drug
-- Proceeds to fund Company through top-line Phase 3 data in patients with
recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma --
Palo Alto, Calif., August 19, 2015 – Orbus Therapeutics Inc., a private, clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies
that treat rare diseases, today announced the completion of a $32.5 million Series A financing.
The funding will enable Orbus Therapeutics to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its
promising therapeutic product candidate, eflornithine.
The Series A financing was led by Longitude Capital, H.I.G. BioVentures and Adams Street
Partners. Dr. Ernest Mario also participated in the financing and has accepted the position of
Chairman of the Board. Dr. Mario is currently Chairman of Capnia, Inc. and Chimerix, Inc., and
was formerly Deputy Chairman of Glaxo Holdings plc, and Chairman and CEO of ALZA
Corporation.
“We are pleased with the support of our high-quality investors, and we are now well-positioned
to fund our operations through the pivotal Phase 3 trial in patients with recurrent anaplastic
astrocytoma,” said Bob Myers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Orbus Therapeutics.
“We look forward to collaborating with the country’s leading brain cancer treatment centers to
evaluate this innovative new treatment, which we hope will improve the survival of these
patients.”
“The Orbus management team has a successful track record building new businesses,
developing and commercializing innovative products, and delivering value to shareholders, and
we are excited to be backing their new venture,” said Patrick Enright, Managing Director of
Longitude Capital. “The Orbus co-founders are well known to us from our investment in Jazz
Pharmaceuticals, where they had key leadership roles. The investor syndicate is excited to fund
this late-stage compound with encouraging efficacy data in patients with a rare and deadly
disease.“
About Eflornithine Clinical Results
In controlled, randomized and single arm clinical studies, eflornithine has shown an increase in
overall survival (OS) of patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma.
In these clinical trials, the primary and reversible side effects seen from eflornithine therapy in a
small percentage of patients were diarrhea and hearing loss. None of the patients discontinued
therapy due to side effects.
The Company received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for eflornithine from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014. A drug may receive BTD if it is intended to treat a
serious or life-threatening disease, and preliminary clinical evidence suggests that it provides a
substantial improvement over existing therapies.
About Anaplastic Glioma (AG)
In the United States, approximately 3,600 new cases of anaplastic glioma (AG) are diagnosed
each year with a median survival of just over three years despite treatment with surgery,
radiation and chemotherapy. The prevalence of AG in the United States is estimated to be
approximately 20,000 people.
Anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) is the largest subset of AG, and represents approximately 75
percent of AG patients. There are approximately 2,500 new AA cases diagnosed in the United
States each year.
About Orbus Therapeutics
Orbus Therapeutics Inc., a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is dedicated to
developing products that treat rare diseases for which there are few, if any, effective therapies.
The Company’s product candidate in clinical development is eflornithine. Eflornithine is a novel
cytostatic agent, which the Company is developing to treat patients with recurrent anaplastic
astrocytoma (rAA), a rare form of central nervous system cancer. Eflornithine irreversibly
inhibits ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in mammalian polyamine biosynthesis
that is up-regulated in certain types of cancer. For more information, please visit the Company's
website at http://www.orbustherapeutics.com
Investor Contact:
Jason Levin, COO
jason.levin@orbustherapeutics.com
650.656.9440
Media Contact:
Denise Powell
denise@redhousecomms.com
510.703.9491
###
Source: Orbus Therapeutics, Inc.
Therapeutic area:
