New Investment in Umoja Biopharma

LEI: 549300Q7EXQQH6KF7Z84

15 June 2021

RTW Venture Fund Limited

New Investment in Umoja Biopharma

RTW Participates in $210 Million Series B Round in Umoja Biopharma

·      RTW Venture Fund Limited announces a new portfolio investment, Umoja Biopharma

·      The proceeds from the Series B financing round are intended to enable Umoja to accelerate development of its pipeline of engineered immunotherapies and internal manufacturing capabilities

RTW Venture Fund Limited (the "Company"), a London Stock Exchange-listed investment company focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector, is pleased to note the announcement by Umoja Biopharma, Inc. ("Umoja") on 15 June 2021 of its completion of a US$210 million Series B financing round.

The Company, alongside other investment vehicles of RTW Investments, LP (the "Investment Manager"), confirms that it participated in the financing round together with other investment firms.

Umoja is a US-based privately held oncology company leveraging its proprietary integrated technologies to reprogram immune cells directly in the human body to create next-generation immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Umoja intends to use the proceeds from this financing round to expand its integrated technologies, advance its product candidates based on the tumor-targeting platform (TumorTag) and in vivo vector delivery and cell expansion platforms (VivoVec and RACR) through preclinical and into clinical development, and build internal manufacturing capabilities to support clinical development of its pipeline programs.

Roderick Wong, MD, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of the Investment Manager, said:

"We are excited to support Umoja's novel approach to develop next-generation cancer therapies by applying its integrated technologies to retool patients' immune systems.  Our investment in Umoja further expands focus of our portfolio on oncology and investing in innovative therapeutic modalities."

The Investment Manager is looking forward to growing the Company's investment pipeline and updating shareholders on further investments by the Company in due course.

Umoja's announcement can be accessed on its website at: www.umoja-biopharma.com, the full text of which is contained below.  

For Further Information

RTW Investments, LP                                    +1 (646) 343 9280
Stephanie Sirota, Chief Business Officer
Alexandra Taracanova, PhD, Director of Investor Relations

Julia Enright, Senior Business Development Associate

Buchanan                                                         +44 (0)20 7466 5107
Charles Ryland

Henry Wilson

George Beale

About RTW Venture Fund Limited:

RTW Venture Fund Limited (LSE: RTW) is an investment company focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector. Driven by a long-term approach to support innovative businesses, RTW Venture Fund invests in companies developing next-generation therapies and technologies that can significantly improve patients' lives.

RTW Venture Fund Limited is managed by RTW Investments, LP, a leading healthcare-focused entrepreneurial investment firm with deep scientific expertise and a strong track record of supporting companies developing life-changing therapies.

Visit the RTW website at www.rtwfunds.com for more information.

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The information in this announcement may include forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations and projections about future events, and in certain cases can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target", "believe" (or the negatives thereon) or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, as well as those included in any related materials, are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and/or its underlying investments, including, among other things, the development of the applicable entity's business, trends in its operating industry, expected use of financing proceeds and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur.

The information contained in this announcement is given at the date of its publication (unless otherwise marked). No reliance may be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information or opinions contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness.

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Umoja Biopharma Closes an Oversubscribed $210 Million Series B Financing to Expand Integrated Immunotherapy Platforms and Advance Programs to the Clinic

Series B financing co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Cormorant Asset Management

Financing accelerates development of Umoja's pipeline of in vivo engineered CAR T cell immunotherapies and internal manufacturing capabilities

Seattle, Wash., June 15, 2021 - Umoja Biopharma, an oncology company leveraging its proprietary integrated technologies to reprogram immune cells in vivo to create next-generation immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, today announced the completion of an oversubscribed $210 million Series B financing. The proceeds will enable Umoja to continue development of its integrated technologies, advance its product candidates based on CAR T-cell adapter-mediated tumor-targeting (TumorTag) and the in vivo modification of immune cells (VivoVec and RACR/CAR) into clinical development, and build internal manufacturing capabilities to support preclinical and clinical development of its pipeline programs.

The financing was co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Cormorant Asset Management with participation from new investors, including RTW Investments, LP; Temasek; Presight Capital, the international venture arm of Christian Angermayer's Apeiron Investment Group; Caas Capital; and an investment fund associated with SVB Leerink. They were joined by all the company's existing investors: MPM Capital, DCVC Bio, Qiming Venture Partners USA, Casdin Capital, The Emerson Collective, and Alexandria Venture Investments.

"Umoja has made tremendous strides in the past year, including advancing our preclinical programs, expanding manufacturing capabilities, and bringing on key hires to prepare for our next phase of development and growth," said Andrew Scharenberg, M.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Umoja Biopharma. "We are excited to continue this momentum, with ongoing efforts to further validate our in vivo-based approach for maximum patient impact in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies."

The Series B funding will be used in part to advance Umoja's two lead programs into the clinic: TumorTag UB-TT170 for folate receptor-expressing solid tumors, and VivoVec UB-VV100 for CD19+ hematological cancers.

"Umoja's fully integrated approach is capable of engineering a patient's own immune system to attack and destroy tumors with a simplicity and cost that enables widespread implementation," said Ryan Crisman, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Technical Officer. "We believe our team is well positioned to deliver on the next wave of immuno-oncology therapies, providing transformative benefits as well as improving access to all patients."

Umoja will continue adding to its team to support the company's rapid growth, building upon the recently announced leadership appointments of Nushmia Khokhar, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, Irena Melnikova, Ph.D., as Chief Financial Officer, and David Fontana, Ph.D., as Chief Business and Strategy Officer, while also expanding its footprint to include a manufacturing operations site in Boulder, Colo.

About Umoja Biopharma

Umoja Biopharma, Inc. is a preclinical stage company advancing an entirely new approach to immunotherapy designed to retool a patient's immune system in vivo. Founded based on pioneering work performed at Seattle Children's Research Institute and Purdue University, Umoja's novel approach is powered by integrated cellular immunotherapy technologies comprising the VivoVec in vivo delivery platform, the RACR/CAR in vivo cell expansion/control platform and the TumorTag targeting platform. Designed from the ground up to work together, these platforms are being developed to create and harness a powerful immune response in the body to directly, safely and controllably attack cancer.  Umoja believes that its approach can provide broader access to the most advanced immunotherapies and enable more patients to live better, fuller lives. To learn more, visit http://umoja-biopharma.com/.

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Media Contact:

Marites Coulter

Verge Scientific Communications

[email protected] 

415.819.2214