New Investment in Artios

LEI: 549300Q7EXQQH6KF7Z84

27 July 2021

RTW Venture Fund Limited

New Investment in Artios

RTW Participates in $153 Million Series C Round in Artios Pharma

·      RTW Venture Fund Limited announces a new portfolio investment, Artios Pharma

·      The proceeds from the Series C financing round are intended to enable Artios to accelerate development of its pipeline of potentially first-in-class DNA Damage Response (DDR) therapies to treat cancer

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 Artios Pharma Limited ("Artios") on 27 July 2021 of its completion of a US$153 million Series C financing round.

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

Artios is a UK-based privately held oncology company developing a diverse pipeline of product candidates for the treatment of cancer  based on its broad DNA Damage Response (DDR) platform and small molecule drug discovery capabilities. Artios intends to use the proceeds from this financing round to expand its potentially best-in-class ATR inhibitor and first-in-class highly selective Polθ inhibitor programs by enabling clinical development in multiple tumor settings and biological backgrounds of single agent and combination therapies.

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

"We are excited to support Artios' novel approach to develop next-generation cancer therapies by leveraging its DDR-based platform.  As we grow our Venture Fund and our presence in the UK biotech ecosystem, we are excited to partner with leading local innovators such as Artios."

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.

Artios' announcement can be accessed on its website at: www.artiospharma.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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Artios Announces $153 Million (£110 Million) Series C Financing Led by Omega Funds and TCG X

·      Funding propels Artios' ability to progress beyond synthetic lethality and to continue the exploitation of the full spectrum of oncology vulnerabilities presented by the DNA Damage Response through deployment of Artios' DDR-based platform and small molecule drug discovery capabilities

·      Financing supports expansion of potentially best-in-class ATR inhibitor and first-in-class highly selective Polθ inhibitor programs by enabling clinical development in multiple tumor settings and biological backgrounds of single agent and combination therapies

CAMBRIDGE, UK and NEW YORK, USA, 27 July 2021: Artios Pharma Limited (Artios), a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company exploiting a broad DDR-based platform and small molecule drug discovery capabilities to develop a diverse pipeline of product candidates for the treatment of cancer, today announced the completion of a US$153 million (£110 million) Series C financing to fund further development of its promising clinical-stage pipeline.

The oversubscribed financing was co-led by Omega Funds and TCG X. Additional investors include Avidity Partners, Invus, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Tetragon Financial Group, RTW Investments LP, Soleus Capital, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, CaaS Capital Management, and Schroders Capital. These new investors join existing investors Arix Bioscience plc, SV Health Investors, Andera Partners, LSP (Life Sciences Partners), M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, IP Group plc, and Novartis Venture Fund who also continue to support Artios through their participation.

In connection with the close of the Series C financing, Michelle Doig, Partner, Head of Corporate Development, Omega Funds and Chen Yu, Founding Managing Partner, TCG X, will join Artios' Board of Directors.

Michelle Doig, Partner, Head of Corporate Development, Omega Funds, said: "Artios' deep expertise in DNA damage response and novel approach to drive the search for new and better cancer treatments is an ideal match for Omega Funds. Supporting Artios in its mission to advance its portfolio of best-inclass and first-in-class small molecule DDR programs, including its DNA polymerase theta (Polθ) inhibitor, which is poised to enter the clinic, is a welcome addition to our portfolio of life science investments targeting our world's most urgent medical needs."

Dr. Chen Yu, Founding Managing Partner, TCG X said: "Artios' DDR programs have been validated by large pharma partnerships which speak to the promise of their science and strategy. Artios' first-inclass platform for developing novel DDR drugs, including their targeted novel Polθ inhibitor with synergies with PARP inhibitors, provides a new potential mode of targeted cancer treatment in identified DDR-defective tumor populations. By investing in this financing round we are creating multiple avenues of value creation for our funds' investors."

Dr. Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Artios, said: "We are thrilled to have such great investors support our vision in this latest Series C fundraise co-led by Omega Funds and TCG X alongside a premier group of new and existing investors. This is an exciting time for Artios as we continue to progress our potential best-in-class ATR program in the clinic and prepare to launch our Polθ program into first-in-human studies in the second half of 2021. By ensuring that our DDR platform and pipeline programs are well-funded, we have successfully cleared a runway to execute our near-term clinical objectives. Having this caliber of strategic investors supporting our mission to bring next-generation DDR programs targeting hard to treat cancers to market adds further validation to Artios' cancerkilling DDR Platform."

Artios is actively developing a pipeline of highly promising potentially best-in-class and first-in-class DDR therapies identified from a global network of leading researchers in the DDR field, including through Cancer Research UK. The inhibition of novel DNA repair targets, like Polθ, in tumors where DNA damage response factors have been lost or down regulated will lead to cancer cells being selectively destroyed without harming normal cells. This creates an opportunity for such products to be used with existing and future therapies to kill cancer.

This financing follows an $84 million (£65 million) Series B fundraise concluded in August 2018 and yields total capital raised to date from investors and strategic partners of more than US$320 million.

END

For more information, please contact:

Investor Contact:

Abid Ansari, Chief Financial Officer

E: [email protected] 

Media Contact:

LifeSci Advisors

Ligia Vela Reid

E: [email protected] 

About Artios Pharma Limited

Artios is a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company focused on developing first-in-class treatments for cancer. The Company is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with proven expertise in DDR drug discovery, including the discovery and early development of the PARP inhibitor Olaparib. It has a unique partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and collaborations with leading DNA repair researchers worldwide, such as The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and the Crick Institute, London. Artios is building a pipeline of next-generation DDR programs to target hard to treat cancers, including its ATR inhibitor ART0380 in treating DDR defective tumors, which is in a Phase 1 clinical study, and the potential firstin-class Polθ inhibitor ART4215 for monotherapy and combination treatments. In December 2020, Artios entered into a collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to identify and develop precision oncology medicines targeting nucleases. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has the right to opt into exclusive development and commercialization of compounds on up to eight targets with Artios to receive up to US$860 million total milestones per target. In April 2021, Artios entered into a collaboration with Novartis to identify DDR targets to use with Novartis' proprietary radioligand therapies with Artios receiving a US$20 million up-front payment in addition to near term research funding to support the collaboration. Artios is eligible to receive up to $1.3 billion in discovery, development, regulatory and sales-based milestones in addition to royalty payments. Artios is based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK, with an office in New York City, USA.

About Omega Funds

Founded in 2004, Omega Funds is a leading international investment firm that creates and invests in life sciences companies that target our world's most urgent medical needs. Omega focuses on identifying and supporting companies through value inflection points across the full arc of innovation, from company formation through clinical milestones and commercial adoption. Omega Funds' portfolio companies have brought 39 products to market in multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, rare diseases, precision medicine and others. Please visit www.omegafunds.com for additional information.

About TCG X

TCG X is a healthcare investment firm dedicated to advancing disruptive medicines and supporting companies that can improve the lives of patients. TCG X invests in both private and public companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs focused on developing better treatment options for patients. TCG X has investment teams in Palo Alto and New York City. For more information, please visit www.tcgcrossover.com.