Antengene Corporation Closes US$97 Million Series C Financing to Support Ongoing Drug Development and Preparations for Potential Commercialization

July 20,2020

Antengene Corporation, a leading innovative hematology and oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing global first-in-class and best-in-class therapies, today announced that it has successfully closed US$97 million in Series C financing. 

The financing was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC with additional support from new investors including GL Ventures (an affiliate of Hillhouse Capital), GIC, and a large, reputable long-term investor. Existing investors including Qiming Venture Partners and Boyu Capital also participated.

"We appreciate the recognition and trust from these prestigious investment institutions. This round of financing has drawn support from among the world's largest asset managers, top-tier healthcare investors widely recognized in the capital markets, and strong continuous support from our existing investors. This is an important milestone to reinforce Antengene's capabilities to bring cutting-edge therapies to help patients with life-threatening diseases in the Asia Pacific regions and around the world." said Dr. Jay Mei, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Antengene.

Proceeds from the Series C financing will be primarily used to fund the continuing clinical development of Antengene's robust pipeline of hematology and oncology therapies, expanding in-house research and development capabilities and strengthening the commercial infrastructures in APAC markets. To date, Antengene has made significant progress with its broad pipeline of six clinical-stage programs and six pre-clinical stage oncology assets:

• ATG-010 (selinexor) is the first and only oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound in the world. In July 2019, the U.S. FDA approved selinexor in combination with low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). In June 2020, selinexor was approved by the U.S. FDA as a treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL). Currently, the registration clinical trials of ATG-010 in RRMM and R/R DLBCL are ongoing in China. The compound is also in late clinical development for various other hematologic malignancies and solid tumors (including KRAS mutant tumors). Pre-clinical studies demonstrated that inhibition of nuclear protein export through XPO1 can effectively treat tumors with such mutation.

• ATG-008 (onatasertib) is a second-generation dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor presently studied in multi-regional clinical trials for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), gynecological malignancies and other cancers as a single agent or in combination with an anti-PD-1 antibody.

• ATG-016 (eltanexor) is a second-generation oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export protein XPO1 presently studied in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) as well as various types of solid tumors, such as colorectal cancer (CRC) and prostate cancer (PrC).

• ATG-019 is a first-in-class PAK4/NAMPT dual-target inhibitor presently studied in a number of clinical trials including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), colorectal cancer, NSCLC, and melanoma. In addition, pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that ATG-019 in combination with anti-PD-1 antibodies can effectively improve the anti-tumor activity and is effective in treating patients that become resistant to anti-PD-1 therapy.

• ATG-527 (verdinexor) is an innovative compound in clinical studies as a potential treatment for anti-viral infection and autoimmune diseases – such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Phase I healthy volunteer study of the compound has been completed.

• ATG-017 is a potent and selective small molecule extracellular signal–regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of various solid tumors, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and multiple myeloma.

In addition, the Antengene drug discovery team is focused on the research and pre-clinical development of innovative small molecules, monoclonal and bi-specific antibodies to treat cancer.