Business & Finance
Themis Raises EUR 40m in Series D Financing Round Backed by US/EU Consortium to Support Pivotal Study and Expand Clinical Pipeline
24 September 2019 - - Austrian immunomodulation therapies developer Themis has closed a Series D financing round totaling EUR 40m (USD 44m), the company said.

The round was co-led by new investors, Farallon Capital and Hadean Ventures. MSD (tradename of Merck and Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA) and Adjuvant Capital, as well as current investors Global Health Investment Fund, aws Gruenderfonds, Omnes Capital, Ventech and Wellington Partners Life Sciences, also participated.

The proceeds from this Series D round will be used to accelerate the company's pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial program for its Chikungunya vaccine and to support further expansion into oncology indications using its proprietary measles vaccine vector platform.

Concurrent with the financing, Dr. Walter Stockinger, Managing Partner at Hadean Ventures, will join Themis' Supervisory Board.

Themis' lead programme is a vaccine for Chikungunya, a debilitating disease with global outbreak potential, developed using its measles vaccine vector platform.

The vaccine candidate, MV-CHIK, is Phase 3-ready with the pivotal global Phase 3 trial initiation expected in the next few months.

The company's other vaccine programmes include those for Zika and Lassa Fever, which are currently being studied in Phase 1 clinical trials, and for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Norovirus and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which are in pre-clinical studies.

Themis recently announced a collaboration with MSD to develop undisclosed vaccine candidates.

In 2018, the company initiated its immuno-oncology portfolio with the first therapeutic candidate to enter clinical studies this year.

Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. is a global institutional investment management firm founded in 1986. Farallon manages approximately USD 28bn in capital for institutions, including college endowments, charitable foundations, pension plans and sovereign wealth funds, and for high net worth individuals.

Farallon is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and São Paulo.

Hadean Ventures is an Oslo and Stockholm-based life science fund manager that invests in life science companies across Europe with a particular focus on under-ventured regions. Hadean's funds are backed by leading European and US-based private and institutional investors.

Adjuvant is a New York-based life sciences fund built to accelerate the development of new technologies for the world's most pressing public health challenges.

Backed by prominent investors such as the International Finance Corp., Novartis, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Adjuvant draws upon a global network of scientists, public health experts, biopharmaceutical industry veterans, and development finance professionals to identify and execute upon new investment opportunities.

Adjuvant finances promising new vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices for historically overlooked indications such as malaria, cholera, Lassa fever, and postpartum hemorrhage, among others, with a commitment to make these interventions accessible to those who need them most in low- and middle-income countries.

Themis is developing immunomodulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer.

Through advanced understanding of immune system mechanisms, the company has built a sophisticated and versatile technology platform for the discovery, development and production of vaccines as well as other immune system activation approaches.

Initially focused on preventing infectious diseases, Themis has demonstrated the potential of its versatile platform through the rapid and successful completion of Phase 2 and near-term entry into Phase 3 clinical development for a vaccine against Chikungunya, a debilitating disease with global outbreak potential.

Funded to date by leading venture capital firms, Themis has also gained prestigious non-dilutive funding for emerging infectious disease indications.

The company will apply its platform and commercial manufacturing capabilities to diseases with high market potential both alone and for its partners.
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