VICO Therapeutics BV

Funding supports ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical trial evaluating VO659 in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 and type 1 and Huntington's disease Financing led by Ackermans & van Haaren along with Droia Ventures, EQT Life Sciences and Kurma Partners with participation from Polaris Partners, Pureos Bioventures and Eurazeo LEIDEN, Netherlands, Jan. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vico Therapeutics B.V., a clinical-stage genetic medicines company developing therapies for severe neurological diseases, today announced a $60 million (€54 million) Series B financing. The financing was led by new investor Ackermans & van Haaren (AvH) with existing co-leads Droia Ventures, EQT Life Sciences and Kurma Partners along with prior investors Polaris Partners, Pureos Bioventures and Eurazeo. Continue Reading Micah Mackison, CEO of Vico Therapeutics "This financing positions us to accelerate our efforts to advance our lead program VO659, currently in a Phase 1/2a clinical study of patients with spinocerebellar ataxia types 3 and 1 and Huntington's disease," said Micah Mackison, chief executive officer at Vico. "We are pleased that a team of highly sophisticated investors, led by new investor AvH, have joined in this financing round, further validating our progress and the significant potential of VO659 to transform the lives of patients living with these devastating neurodegenerative diseases for which there are currently no disease-modifying treatments available." The financing will support overall company operations including advancement of the ongoing Phase 1/2a multi-center, open-label basket trial of VO659 in patients living with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) and type 1 (SCA1) and Huntington's disease (HD). The trial is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of multiple ascending doses of VO659 administered intrathecally in participants with mild to moderate SCA3, SCA1 and early manifest HD, with the first patient dosed in April 2023. The financing will also help support discovery and research efforts to further expand the company's pipeline in other genetic neurological diseases. The company also announced that Jeroen Vangindertael, Ph.D., investment manager at AvH, will join Vico's board of directors. Prior to joining AvH in September 2020, Dr. Vangindertael was at BNP Paribas Fortis where he supported biotechnology companies through private equity investments. "We are proud to support Vico in this financing round as they continue to advance their lead clinical program and further develop a portfolio of novel antisense oligonucleotides," said Dr. Vangindertael. "We are impressed by Vico's progress in the clinic and believe their strong management team is well positioned to execute on their mission to bring their innovative therapies to patients in need." "The investment in Vico fits perfectly in AvH's Life Sciences investment strategy where we aim to offer growth capital to ambitious biotech companies building their clinical pipeline," added Piet Dejonghe, co-CEO of AvH. About Vico Therapeutics B.V. Vico Therapeutics is a clinical-stage genetic medicines company developing antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) RNA modulating therapies for patients with severe neurological diseases. Our lead product candidate, VO659, is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical development for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia types 3 and 1 and Huntington's disease and is the only ASO in the clinic that targets the underlying CAG repeat expansions that cause all nine known polyglutamine diseases. Vico's research platform designs fit-for-purpose ASOs by applying precision chemistry with mechanisms of action ideally suited to target genetic neurological diseases. For more information, visit . Media Contact Jenna Urban Berry & Company Public Relations [email protected] 212-253-8881 SOURCE Vico Therapeutics B.V.

None   Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Max Bayer or Gabrielle Masson, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.  Incyte plucks ex-Rubius chief to lead R&D  Incyte  Pablo Cagnoni, M.D., had a 2022 to forget. The former CEO of Flagship-founded Rubius Therapeutics spent the last quarter of the year laying off virtually all remaining staff before exiting himself, departing the company in November after failing to find any clinical success. But Cagnoni was not without a job for long, if any time at all, immediately becoming CEO of another Flagship venture, Laronde. He’s now stepping outside of Flagship universe for the first time since he led Tizona Therapeutics until 2018, a biotech that Gilead Sciences secured the right to buy two years later for up to $1.5 billion. Cagnoni is headed to Delaware-based pharma Incyte to be president and head of R&D.  It’s a newly created role that blends together chemistry, biology and development, CEO Hervé Hoppenot said in a release. Incyte has a deep roster of meds spanning oncology, hematology, dermatology and blood disorders. The company’s moneymaker is Jakafi, approved to treat myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera and graft-versus-host disease. The med accounted for 84% of the company’s total net product revenue in the first quarter of this year. Release Farallon claims victory in Exelixis proxy battle Exelixis  Exelixis is waving the white flag on at least one crucial demand from activist investor Farallon, with a third targeted board member announcing this week that he wouldn’t seek reelection. The decision tees up likely board appointments at the company’s annual meeting for all three Farallon allies. The decision from 26-year board veteran Lance Willsey comes after Farallon upped the ante on its pressure campaign, alleging last week that Willsey hadn’t been a practicing doctor for more than 20 years and was in fact an active professional race car driver. Exelixis had previously announced support for two out of three of Farallon’s board recommendations.  The company hopes that the board concessions will mark the end of Farallon’s tiff with the biotech’s direction, though that doesn’t appear to be the case. Farallon said in a statement that Exelixis original qualms “underscores its aversion to change.” The investors will now turn its attention toward revamping the company’s R&D strategy to prioritize approved cancer med, cabozantinib. Fierce Biotech  Former Astellas development head jumps to new Frontier Frontier Medicines Andrew Krivoshik, M.D., Ph.D., is jumping to the C-suite for the first time in his career, becoming chief medical officer at Frontier Medicines. The move marks the end of a 12-year career at Astellas Pharma where he ascended to president and head of development.  His appointment is indicative of Frontier’s nearing clinical aspirations, with the company expected to ask U.S. regulators to greenlight a phase 1 trial in the second half of the year for dual KRAS inhibitor FMC-376. The company has four other oncology targets working through preclinical development in addition to three targets tied to a partnership with AbbVie.  As it turns out, Krivoshik previously worked at AbbVie (then Abbott) for almost seven years before jumping to Astellas. Krivoshik worked his way up the Chicago-area pharmaceutical, holding a variety of medical director positions before being named an oncology therapeutic manager and product safety lead in December 2010. He left for Astellas four months later. Release > Vicinitas Therapeutics has chosen Christian Hofmann, Ph.D., to lead the cancer and genetic-disorder-focused biotech as CEO. Hofmann joins from Lycia Therapeutics, where he served as chief business officer, and has also worked at Roche’s Genentech. Release > Biofrontera CEO Erica Monaco is resigning, with Executive Chair and Founder Hermann Luebbert set to take over her responsibilities. Monaco plans to pursue other professional opportunities. Release > Radiopharmaceutical biotech Mariana Oncology has tapped Linda Bain to serve as both chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Prior to Mariana, Bain was CFO at Codiak Biosciences and has also clocked in time at bluebird bio, Genzyme and AstraZeneca, among others. Release   > CDMO KBI Biopharma is expanding its leadership team, selecting Marykay Marchigiani to serve as chief financial officer and Sigma Mostafa, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Before KBI, Marchigiani was CFO for Advanced Bioscience Laboratories, while Mostafa was KBI's SVP and site head for its largest site. Release   > Swedish company SmartCella has appointed Niklas Prager to helm the organization. Prager has previously held leadership positions at Merck and Pfizer and has served as CEO for Medivir and CellaVision. Release    > David Howat has joined cancer biotech Ribonexus, taking on the role of chief development officer. Howat has more than three decades of industry experience and has previously served as CDO for Haoma Medica and Evgen Pharma. Release  > AI-based Tempus is welcoming former National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Norman "Ned" Sharpless, M.D., on as a senior strategic adviser. Sharpless was NCI’s director from 2017 to 2022 and also served as acting commissioner for food and drugs at the FDA in 2019. Release   > U.K.-based cancer company Immodulon has chosen Gertjan Bartlema to lead as CEO; Peter Greaney, Ph.D., as chief business officer; and Richard Davies as chair of the board. Bartlema most recently served as CEO of VICO Therapeutics and Greaney previously served as head of corporate development for ADC Therapeutics, while Davies is currently deputy chair of Alvotech’s board. Release    > Andera Partners is bringing on Stefan Keitel as a senior adviser in hopes of bulking up its presence in German, Austrian and Swiss private equity markets. Keitel most recently served as CEO of Harald Quandt Holding. Release

Richard Davies, Deputy Chairman of Alvotech, elected as Chairman of the BoardGertjan Bartlema, formerly at Celgene and Amgen, appointed as Chief Executive OfficerPeter Greaney, formerly at ADC Therapeutics and Celgene, appointed as Chief Business OfficerAppointments add significant industry experience to accelerate development of lead asset IMM-101 and bring it to patients in need of effective therapies Uxbridge, UK – 10 May 2023 – Immodulon, a late-stage clinical company developing a highly differentiated cancer immunotherapy that primes the patient’s own innate immune system, today announces it has elected Richard Davies as Chairman of the Board and appointed Gertjan Bartlema as Chief Executive Officer and Peter Greaney as Chief Business Officer. This new team brings decades of industry experience from leading global pharmaceutical companies including Celgene, Amgen, Hospira, ADC Therapeutics and Alvotech. Their expertise will be crucial in guiding IMM-101 through late-stage clinical development and maximising its potential for patients. Richard Davies, Chairman of the Board, said: “I am excited to join Immodulon’s Board of Directors as Chairman at this pivotal time for the company. Immodulon has generated compelling Phase 2 data with IMM-101, which has the potential to make a real impact on the treatment of pancreatic cancer where patients have limited new treatment options. Gertjan and Peter are highly experienced biotech executives and I look forward to supporting them and the Board in realising IMM-101’s true potential, providing a new therapy for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer and maximising the return for investors.” Gertjan Bartlema, Chief Executive Officer of Immodulon, added: “Having joined the Immodulon Board last year, I am honoured to take on the role of leading the company towards its goal of improving outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer. I am excited to work with the team to accelerate the clinical development of IMM-101 in combination with Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) and gemcitabine. I’m inspired by this opportunity of making a meaningful impact with this potential new treatment regimen for patients suffering from pancreatic cancer.” Richard Davies Richard has over 30 years’ pharmaceutical industry experience and is currently Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors for Alvotech. Richard served as CEO of BONESUPPORT AB, a public Scandinavian orthobiologics company, CEO of Auregen SA, a tissue engineering company and Chief Commercial Officer of Hospira, at the time the world’s largest injectable drug manufacturer, subsequently acquired by Pfizer. Additionally, Richard spent 9 years at Amgen in a range of senior management roles across various geographies after beginning his early career at Eli Lilly. Richard holds a BSc in Applied Chemistry from the University of Portsmouth and an MBA from the University of Warwick. Gertjan Bartlema Gertjan is a global biotech leader with over 25 years’ industry experience in finance, business development and operations. Most recently, Gertjan was CEO of VICO Therapeutics BV, a privately held Netherlands-based company. Prior to VICO, Gertjan spent 12 years at Celgene where he started as part of their initial European management team based in Switzerland. As a member of its New Jersey based corporate business development team, he played a key role in the acquisition of Abraxis BioScience, adding Abraxane to Celgene’s portfolio. Gertjan started his career at Amgen and over a 9-year period held various roles at its European (Switzerland) and corporate headquarters in the US. Gertjan holds an MSc in Economics from Maastricht University, Netherlands. Peter Greaney, PhD Peter is a highly experienced business development executive, with over 20 years’ international industry expertise. Previously, Peter served as Head of Corporate Development at ADC Therapeutics where he played an integral role transforming the company from a private R&D biotech to a NYSE-listed public biotech with a commercial therapeutic product. Prior to ADC Therapeutics, Peter spent 12 years at Celgene in a number of roles of increasing responsibility in Switzerland and the US across medical, commercial and business development and played a key role integrating Abraxane into the Celgene portfolio. Peter began his career as a Preclinical Senior Scientist at Apoxis. Peter holds a BSc in Cell Biology from the University of East Anglia and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Nottingham. -Ends - Notes to Editors About Immodulon Therapeutics LtdImmodulon is a late-stage clinical company developing a highly differentiated cancer immunotherapy approach that primes the patient’s own innate immune system with the aim to significantly enhance the efficacy of a broad range of anti-cancer therapies, including chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors. Immodulon is developing IMM-101, a heat-killed formulation of the mycobacterium M. obuense, as a broad-spectrum immunomodulatory agent that has promising potential in a range of difficult-to-treat tumours including those considered to be immunologically “cold,” such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Immodulon has generated promising, positive Phase 2 data with IMM-101 in pancreatic cancer in combination with gemcitabine. These data show that IMM-101 is safe and effective, prolonging progression-free survival for a sub-group of patients with metastatic disease compared to gemcitabine alone. IMM-101 is due to enter a pivotal pancreatic cancer study. Contacts: ImmodulonGertjan Bartlema, CEOG.Bartlema@immodulon.comPeter Greaney, CBOP.Greaney@immodulon.com MEDiSTRAVA Consulting Frazer Hall, Sandi Greenwood, Eleanor Perkin Immodulon@medistrava.com+44 (0)203 928 6900