- Significantly oversubscribed financing round with an LSP-led international syndicate of investors.
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Proceeds will be used to grow Alize Pharma 3’s team in Lyon and Boston, to advance its current programs in hypoparathyroidism and severe insulin resistance into clinical development, and to further strengthen its product portfolio in rare endocrine and metabolic diseases.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 31, 2019 - LSP, the leading European life sciences investor, today announced the financing of Alizé Pharma 3, a company specialized in developing therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases. The oversubscribed Series A was led by LSP, and included Novo Ventures, Kurma Partners, Orbimed, Pontifax, Partners Innovation Fund, and Innobio2. Existing shareholders, Sham Innovation Santé/Turenne Capital, Crédit Agricole Création, and TAB Consulting also participated in the financing. LSP will invest from its recently raised LSP 6 fund and Felice Verduyn - van Weegen and René Kuijten will both join the Alize Pharma 3 Supervisory Board.
The new capital will be used primarily for advancing the company’s product portfolio in rare endocrine and metabolic diseases, and to further strengthen it with selective acquisitions. Currently, the portfolio is comprised of two preclinical programs expected to reach clinical stage in 2020.
- AZP-3601 is a parathyroid hormone (PTH) analog, uniquely designed for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism, that was licensed from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The unique pharmacological profile of AZP-3601, and its specific actions on calcium metabolism, make it a potential best-in-class therapy for this indication associated with high unmet clinical need.
- AZP-3404 is a small peptide that leverages the biology of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 (IGFBP2) to treat syndromes of severe insulin resistance, a collection of ultra-rare diseases with significant morbidity and mortality. AZP-3404 was designed and optimized based on original research licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Maine. Alizé Pharma 3 will expand its team in Lyon, France, and will open a subsidiary in Boston, Massachusetts, in order to implement global drug development capabilities.
“We are very pleased to receive support and financing from this group of high-quality, international investors who share our ambition to build a leading rare disease company specialized in endocrinology and metabolism”, said Thierry Abribat, Founder and CEO of Alizé Pharma 3. “We look forward to working with them to accelerate the structuring of the company and to advance our current product portfolio to ultimately provide new effective therapeutic approaches for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases with high unmet medical needs.”
Felice Verduyn-Van Weegen, Investment Manager at LSP, commented: ”We were very impressed by the quality of the team and we believe that they are very well positioned to bring these two exciting programs forward. Both programs are based on deep scientific knowledge and target a patient population where there is significant unmet need. On top of that, we believe that this €67 million Series A financing will enable Alizé Pharma 3 to live up to its full potential to become a fully-fledged biotech company with several interesting assets in the endocrine space. This is an ambitious team, resulting in an ambitious company.”
Jørgen Søberg Petersen, Venture Partner at Novo Ventures, said: ”We are excited to launch another high-quality, innovative rare disease company. Both programs are anchored in strong science and hold the potential to transform life for patients with these rare endocrine disorders. Moreover, with an experienced management team, presence in Europe and the US, and support from a strong international syndicate of investors, Alizé Pharma 3 certainly has the key ingredients to deliver on its mission”.
Thierry Laugel, Managing Partner at Kurma Partners, commented: “We were impressed with the track record of the team in identifying innovative peptide drug candidates, and in building sound development plans to deliver these novel therapies to patients. We look forward seeing these efforts yield improved treatments for diseases with significant unmet medical need”.
About Alizé Pharma 3
Alizé Pharma 3 develops innovative therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and metabolic diseases. Its ambition is to become a leading company in rare diseases with operations in both Europe and the US to support the global development of products.
Alizé Pharma 3 is building an innovative and balanced portfolio of products targeting significant unmet medical needs. Its first two assets are AZP-3601, a PTH analog for hypoparathyroidism, and AZP-3404, a peptide leveraging the biology of IGFBP2 for treating syndromes of severe insulin resistance. More information is available at: www.alz-pharma.com
About LSP
LSP (Life Sciences Partners) is an independent European investment firm, providing financing for private and public life sciences companies. LSP’s mission is to connect investors to inventors, focusing on unmet medical needs. Since the late 1980s, LSP’s management has invested in over 100 innovative enterprises, many of which have grown to become leaders of the global life sciences industry. With over €2.0 billion ($2.3 billion) of investment capital raised to date and offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston, LSP is one of Europe’s leading life sciences investors. LSP also invests in public companies through its Euronext-listed LSP Life Sciences Fund (Bloomberg: LSP NA). For more information, please visit: www.lspvc.com
Contact:
Felice Verduyn-van Weegen, Investment manager LSP
+31206645500
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