Portfolio company ApcinteX acquired by Centessa

IP Group plc - Portfolio company ApcinteX acquired by Centessa Pharmaceuticals

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, notes the announcement from Centessa Pharmaceuticals ("Centessa") that it has launched with a $250 million financing round after having acquired a number of assets including IP Group portfolio company ApcinteX Ltd ("ApcinteX").

Following these transactions, IP Group's resulting minority stake in Centessa is valued at £19.0 million, representing a fair value gain of £11.0 million from the holding value of ApcinteX at 30 June 2020. ApcinteX is developing SerpinPC, a specific inhibitor of the anticoagulant protease activated protein C (APC), for the treatment for hemophilia A and hemophilia B, with or without inhibitors.

Centessa has been founded by Medicxi and raised $250 million in an oversubscribed Series A financing led by General Atlantic and co-led by Vida Ventures and Janus Henderson Investors. Additional blue-chip investors participated in the financing, including Boxer Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Wellington Management Company, BVF Partners L.P., EcoR1 Capital, Franklin Templeton, Logos Capital, Samsara BioCapital, LifeSci Venture Partners and an undisclosed U.S.-based, healthcare-focused fund.

In conjunction with the launch, Centessa completed the merger of ten private biotech companies, including ApcinteX, that will each continue to develop its assets with oversight from the Centessa management team.

Centessa noted that its asset-centric model is intended to advance a portfolio of highly validated programs, having assembled "best-in-class or first-in-class assets, each of which is led by specialized teams committed to accelerate development and reshape the traditional drug development process".

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About IP Group

IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiaries IP Capital and Parkwalk Advisors), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in early-stage to mature businesses across life sciences and technology. IP Group is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO. Group holdings in portfolio companies reflect the undiluted beneficial equity interest excluding debt, unless otherwise explicitly stated. For more information, please visit our website at www.ipgroupplc.com.

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