Pfizer, Adage Help Extend Drug Developer Amplyx’s Series C To $90M

Biotech company Amplyx Pharmaceuticals closed on an additional $53 million toward its Series C to raise it to more than $90 million, the San Diego-based company announced Tuesday.

Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily

The financing was led by Sofinnova Investments, with participation from existing investors including New Enterprise Associates, Lundbeckfonden Ventures, Arix Bioscience, Pappas Capital, RiverVest Venture Partners, 3×5 Partners and BioMed Ventures. The round also included new equity investment from Pfizer Inc. and Adage Capital Management.

Since the company’s inception in 2006, Amplyx has raised a total of $145.5 million, according to Crunchbase data. It’s $67 million Series C funding raise took place back in August 2017, led by Sofinnova and eight other investors.

Amplyx focuses on developing innovative therapies for debilitating and life-threatening diseases in patients with compromised immune systems. The new funding will go toward advancing the clinical development of two product candidates: fosmanogepix, for fungal infections, and MAU868, for diseases associated with BK virus infection in transplant patients, the company said.

Fosmanogepix has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for seven separate indications, and is designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product for the treatment of four indications, according to the company. In September 2019, Amplyx secured exclusive worldwide rights from Novartis for MAU868.

“The current pandemic highlights the continued need for the development of safe and effective antimicrobial agents able to address emerging threats,” Ciara Kennedy, Ph.D., president and CEO of Amplyx, said in a written statement. “This financing enables us to build on positive initial data for our lead program, fosmanogepix, in invasive candidemia, and expand to proof of concept studies in other invasive and difficult-to-treat fungal infections, including invasive aspergillosis. In addition, we continue to advance MAU868, our monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of clinically significant BKV infection in people who have received either a kidney or hematopoietic cell transplant.”

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias