Apellis Pharmaceuticals raises $60m in new funding round

New investors include Sofinnova, Vivo Capital, F-Prime Capital Partners, certain investment funds advised by Clough Capital Partners L.P., and venBio Select. Existing investors Morningside Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, venBio Global Strategic Fund, and Epidarex Capital also participated in the financing.

The proceeds of the financing will be used to initiate Phase 3 trials with APL-2 in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare, chronic, life-threatening blood disorder, and advance development in other indications. Positive Phase 1b results in PNH were recently reported, and, later in 2017, results are expected from a Phase 1 study in autoimmune hemolytic anemia and a Phase 2 study in geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration.

“Data generated to date with APL-2 across a range of clinical indications support our belief that C3 inhibition has great potential to deliver novel and commercially successful treatments,” commented Cedric Francois, MD, PhD, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Apellis.

"This group of top tier investors supports our vision of developing APL-2 to its full potential, and of providing a range of differentiated treatments to patients with serious unmet medical needs,” he added. “The remainder of this year will see significant milestones for Apellis.”

As part of this financing, Maha Katabi, PhD, CFA, Partner, Private Equity at Sectoral Asset Management will join Apellis’ Board of Directors. “APL-2 is a molecule with the potential to disrupt current treatment paradigms in a range of complement-mediated conditions,” noted Dr. Katabi. "We are pleased to support Apellis, and help the Company reach its next growth objectives.”