Evox Therapeutics Raises $95.4 Million To Advance Exosome-Based Pipeline

Rare Daily Staff

U.K.-based Evox Therapeutics said it has raised $95.4 million (£69.2 million) in a series C financing round to advance its exosome-based therapeutics pipeline, including progression of several rare disease assets, into the clinic.

Redmile Group led the oversubscribed financing with participation from new investors OrbiMed and Invus, and all existing investors, including Oxford Sciences Innovation, GV, and Cowen Healthcare Investments. Eli Lilly, also converted a $10 million convertible note, part of a 2020 collaboration with Evox, into equity as part of this round.

Besides moving lead assets for the treatment of urea cycle disorders and rare metabolic conditions into IND enabling studies and the clinic, proceeds from the financing will be used to continue development of Evox’s DeliverEX exosome drug platform.

Evox uses its proprietary DeliverEX technology to modify exosomes using various molecular engineering, drug loading, and targeting strategies to facilitate targeted drug delivery to organs of interest, including the brain and the central nervous system. Exosome-based drugs have the potential to address some of the limitations of protein, antibody and nucleic acid-based therapies by enabling delivery to cells and tissues that are currently out of reach using other drug delivery technologies.

In connection with the financing, Evox will appoint Chau Khuong, partner at OrbiMed, to its board of directors.

“The level of interest in this financing round is testament to the progress we have made over the last few years,” said Antonin de Fougerolles, CEO of Evox. “Since our series B round in 2018, we have continued to develop our DeliverEX platform, advance our pipeline of exosome therapeutics, expand our intellectual property portfolio, build our R&D capabilities and bolster our management team.”

Photo: Antonin de Fougerolles, CEO of Evox