Portfolio co Iksuda completes $42m financing round

IP Group plc - Portfolio company Iksuda Therapeutics completes $42m (£29.6m*) Series A financing round

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, notes that portfolio company Iksuda Therapeutics Ltd ("Iksuda" or "the Company") has completed a $42 million Series A financing round, led by Korea-based Mirae Asset Capital and its subsidiaries, with Celltrion Inc. ("Celltrion") and Premier Partners.

The funding will support the advancement of Iksuda's lead Antibody Drug Conjugate ("ADC") assets and expansion of its payload and conjugation platform technologies, enabling progression of its lead pre-clinical candidate, IKS03 - a best-in-class CD19-targeted ADC candidate for B-cell cancers, to first-in-human phase 1 clinical trials. The funding will also be used to accelerate the Company's earlier-stage programmes, including IKS04 and IKS012, to IND filing.

Iksuda's ADC programmes target tumours that currently have limited treatment options and high relapse rates. The Company's drug development pipeline is centred on the improved safety and efficacy conferred by tumour activated, prodrug payloads in combination with stable conjugation technologies, including its proprietary novel PermaLink^® platform. Iksuda's research-stage pipeline utilizes its proprietary Protein Alkylating (ProAlk) tumour-activated payload platform, recently licensed from Göttingen University. The novel mode of action for the ProAlk tuneable payload series differs from the field's primary focus of intra- or DNA inter-strand cross-linking, conferring benefits against drug and tumour resistance mechanisms, and enabling the development of more powerful, more tolerable ADCs.

Following completion, IP Group will have a 19.4% undiluted beneficial stake in Iksuda, which the Directors anticipate will be valued at £8.3 million, representing a net unrealised fair value gain to the Group of approximately £5.3 million. IP Group has agreed to sell $5 million (£3.5 million*) worth of shares as part of the transaction to facilitate the introduction of Celltrion as a strategic partner to Iksuda and secure long-term financial backing for the company's pipeline. The funding round and the sale of shares by IP Group will be tranched and subject to the achievement of certain milestones.

*GBP equivalents calculated using 1.42 USD/GBP.

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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.

ENDS